Dreamers Reflect
by AnsuzWhispers
Summary: Part 2 of the Dreamers saga. They lost. Laertes is on the loose, Ami is gone and they are stuck with a Mercurian Senshi, who for one isn't Ami and for another caused this whole dilemma. Our Senshi must make a daring dive into their own past to understand an enemy who has his origin in the Silver Millennium. However, that past might reveal more than they are ready for.
1. Mirror, Mirror, who am I?

_So, guys I am back. Finally. Dreamers will continue, although it took me longer than promised to start posting the second part. Sorry for that and thank you for your patience. I hope the story still holds you captivated. For everyone new here I strongly recommand reading the first part Dreamers Awake first, because, yeah, obviously there will be spoilers ahead._

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She was sure staring any longer at the offending item would not help at all to ease her worries. On the contrary: thinking more about everything only made it worse. It kind of resembled parachute jumping. From the ground, a safe distance, everything looked fine, but as soon as you went onto the plane, as soon as the moment you would finally do it came close, your perspective changed. And when you then had the first look out of that opened door, a vast sky right before with nothing to hold onto, you start questioning everything anew… The longer you took to prepare mentally for the jump the harder it got to execute that very motion. The longer you stood there, the more you consider yourself nuts for daring this endeavor. One step was suddenly one step too far. One step more would seal a point of no return.

She could not help it. She ended up at that very point. She was standing there imagining the vast sky and Earth beneath her so far away. And she just stared. She hesitated. She told herself it was her ritual of mental preparation to brace for what was about to come, for falling into the void. She told herself that she needed to savor these last seconds of controlled safety, before she plunged irrevocably into an uncertain truth that might end badly for them all. It wasn't easy to come to this point. Still, standing here was a decision taken by them all and the moment of truth was finally here.

It was time to jump.

Half of her wished it wasn't.

It wasn't as if there was no pretense to postpone this again.

When they decided to dive into Michiru's mirror to watch the memories of the Silver Millennium, Methys had prepared for them, they had also agreed not to rush it.

They took their time to get to this point. They slept over it. They caught up on some direly needed rest. They waited until all of their residual injuries were healed, which were not too severe anymore, yes, but still, they needed the time to mend. Rei's scratches had healed and Haruka's, Michiru's and Minako's frostbites as well. They moved to Haruka's and Michiru's beach house and settled in as best as they could. They tried to sort out their own worries and problems first, before they likely created new ones. They held countless of debates over the topic. They thought it through to the best of their knowledge. All things had been said, all opinions voiced, all worries considered. All of those preparations had been part of their agreement to take the time they needed and they helped to lessen their anxiety.

They truly did.

Yesterday, she had felt ready.

There was nothing else they could do, after all.

From a logical point of view, they could not postpone it any longer. It was time.

There was nothing else that could be done. Only this. This was the next step. A logical consequence.

And still, today Michiru felt not ready.

_It's too late to chicken out. We are going to do this. We are going to look into these memories Methys recorded for us. And we are doing it, __**now**__._

To be honest, during all their endless discussions and speculations, she always felt torn about the whole thing. She had expected that feeling to lessen, but it never did. It persisted and evolved.

Were they doing the right thing?

After everything that went wrong lately, she was drowning in her doubts and worries.

Her self-confidence had taken several hits and she still felt the echoes of those impacts. On top of that there were the debates.

Talking about it was in general a good idea, but it also made more insecurities rise to the surface. Insecurities, you hadn't even thought of yourself, before someone else made a random comment that most of the time had not even anything to do with you. They went through possible scenarios, yes, but they also covered the worst ones and now she felt the lingering fear that those might be the truth at the end. Sometimes pushing aside certain fears had its advantages in comparison to analyzing them down to the slightest detail. The latter made them more likely. More of a reality. And that's the least they wanted them to be.

She has been always proud of her creative mind. Of her imagination skill. Those were to a great part what made her an excellent painter and musician. Right now, they went overboard in the worst possible way and she started to believe that she could accept any truth in comparison to this torturing uncertainty and the lingering doubts. She had grown restless and the others did, too. Impatient to get things going and especially Rei and Haruka could barely rein in their frustration anymore.

It was time to face the truth.

Discussions and debates had outlived their usefulness.

Words weren't enough anymore. They would just be a repetition of a repetition.

To sum it up, it was high time that finally some actions followed to their theoretical debates.

Michiru however feared that last step, although she knew it was absolutely necessary.

She knew they had stalled long enough.

And still it felt so different to when they first dived into Methys' memories and got to know about her shared past with Ami. All their lengthy discussions couldn't prepare her for this moment.

She was afraid.

Back then asking the mirror had only been a possible concept, a random idea that was not very likely to work, a shot into the dark. Now, it was … real, very real.

When they entered the mirror the first time they did not really know, what to expect. Like a small child that was innocently playing with a wasp and got stung. Now, after getting those glimpses about Ami's memories, they had an idea of the consequences more glimpses of that kind could cause. On the one hand, she was curious and on the other there was a feeling of dread looming on the horizon, that made her entirely uncomfortable about the whole matter. They would dive into an entirely different world and it frightened her. She knew she wasn't the only one feeling like this. They all did. And still they decided to do this.

Everything that happened before from Ami's unfortunate meeting with her father causing her to make a dash from Michiru's art exhibition, to the robbery she got involved in, up to the point of being severely injured because of it… it was all a passing blur. Her Senshi guardian making an appearance made it only worse. It came all out of the blue and it hit them pretty hard.

Everything had happened in such a quick succession that they had barely any time to breathe. One blow followed by another as if they were pommeled into the corner in a boxing match. And back then they hadn't even known that it was only the beginning. Their problems only quadrupled from that point and they were forced to fight at several fronts at the same time. Was it against the police that believed Ami to be responsible for the death of one of the robbers, against Mercury, who secretly harbored her own plans or against Ami's mother, whom they needed to heal Ami, but made no secret of disapproving Ami's newly discovered life style as Senshi. It had already been a huge mess at this point.

However, it turned out it was possible to make it even worse. They came to think Mercury was their enemy. In fact, all her actions made them doubt her intentions. She for sure wasn't the serene Senshi they expected, but rather a bossy pain in the ass that turned out to be using them to reach her own agendas. And not knowing what those were, made them even more suspicious of her. What sealed the death of her trustworthiness was her apparent intention to sacrifice Ami in the line of her plans, a suspicion that also resulted in a premature death of their brief alliance. From the moment they suspected her from not shying away from taking over Ami's body to live again, they labeled her as the biggest threat and whatever thin bond, they had formed, was lost in distrust, accusations and lies.

It turned out to be one of their greatest mistakes, albeit not the only one. Their obsession with her made them neglect the other aspects of the plight, they found themselves in. Admittedly, it had been just too much back then, so they focused on the one that was in their opinion the most immediate danger, the one they could see. It was the most logical approach. And the one that proved to be the worst pitfall.

In their eagerness to protect Ami from Mercury's dubious intentions, they forgot to consider that picking the obvious enemy to focus on, wasn't always the best choice, only the easiest.

In fact, things turned out to be way more complicated and they wasted their energy on working against the only one, who might have been their ally all along. To be fair, the animosity between them stemmed to a great part from Mercury herself. She could have handled the situation differently. She could have trusted them, she could have told them what she knew, she could have chosen a path that differed from her being the lone warrior to face down an ancient evil. She could have been less bitchy. Less secretive. However, that's not what she did. She chose the lone path and vacated any kind of teamwork, they might have been able to establish, would she have been honest with them from the start. She kept the threat looming at the horizon a secret, convinced she was obliged to deal with it on her own. However, while she might be blamed for the largest part of the fallout that awaited them, they could not deny, that they themselves, were also not completely innocent in the unfortunate outcome. They have been too focused on Ami's immediate well-being, too eager to blame tha late Sailor Mercury for everything, too unwilling to truly listen to her advice. Hell, they didn't even ask her for her name. She had been Ami's former Senshi self for them, but never an actual individual with her own identity and personality. A shadow, a figurehead, but never a real person. Only later they got to know her name. Methys. Later when it had almost been too late.

Both sides committed mistakes and at the end they barely survived the resulting catastrophe.

Everything they did or didn't do, had consequences and some of them only showed way later. While they have been busy with Methys as the primary target of their ire, other forces operated in the shadows against them, forces they were completely oblivious about.

Forces they did not take for real up to until it was almost too late.

The real danger came from a direction; they had the least experience with.

They were kinda accustomed to dealing with monsters or crazed despots who wanted to destroy the world, to things they could smash to bits or appease.

However, they were not accustomed to deal with federal law. Especially not when they were labeled as the bad guys.

They have never been accused to stand on the wrong side of justice before. It had been a first and it showed in how poorly the handled it.

They underestimated the police, foremost the Inspector leading Ami's case, Chen Hattorima. Too late they realized that his interest in the robbery case and particularly in Ami herself was way more than a veteran police officer doing his job. He was obsessed with her and determined to prove her guilty of orchestrating the whole robbery, murdering one of the robbers and beating up the rest of them. Admittedly, the last point had been true, but all the other accusations against her had been wrong and it took them quite some effort to cover for Ami. She had meant well. Ami just did what she always did: Protecting the innocent. She fulfilled the very purpose of being a Senshi.

It had never gone wrong like that… in plenty of other ways, yes, but never like that. It almost killed her with one of the thugs shooting her and the police got it entirely wrong, accusing her of heideous crimes. To protect their friend and their Senshi identities they had to get the poilice off her trail. In fact, they had gone to great lengths to achieve that aim, actions all of them were not proud off.

The line between Senshi duty and their civilian life had blurred and for the first time they had the police against them, the very executive arms of federal law, they would have considered their ally under normal circumstances.

In their goose chase to recover the lost Mercurian Henshin Stick, they required for healing Ami, they entered unknown territory. They sent in Rei disguised as Ami, curtesy to the transformation pen, to face a police interrogation in Ami's stead, while in the meantime Setsuna was supposed to hack Inspector Hattorima's computer to find Ami's Henshin Stick. The one, she had lost during the encounter with the robbers. Not only did they not find the Henshin Stick in the list of evidence, they also made Hattorima more suspicious of Ami and provided other inconsistencies he could use against her. They left traitorous traces and just provided more ammunition the police later on used against Ami. Still, they did their best to keep the police at bay, hiding Ami from them only to realize way too late that their greatest enemy was serving in their ranks, and to make it worse, it wasn't the one they expected.

It wasn't Inspector Hattorima, whom they should have worried about, but his charge Kato. All this time they believed him to be just tailing along his superior, a dutiful officer and partner whose presence was barely noticed. It turned out he had his own agenda, which he hid masterfully, until it was time to show his true colors.

He wasn't who they thought he was.

He was no normal police officer. At least not anymore.

He was a dark shadow of the past, a survivor of the Silver Millennium that came to haunt them.

A ghost that took over the body of the young police officer.

The police officer named Kato was gone. He was now Laertes, a demon hell-bent for destruction.

A demon of a past they did not remember.

And he was after Ami or rather the one she once was. Mercury.

They didn't know why. They knew nothing.

Was it initially Mercury they mistrusted due to her obnoxious behavior and her whole secretiveness about basically everything, they were blind for the far bigger threat looming on the horizon. They failed to see any connection to their past in the Silver Millennium because for them Mercury and the police being after Ami had been two separate problems, and the only one who knew otherwise, Mercury herself, failed to share that knowledge with them.

When he finally ambushed them with Hattorima in tow, they were completely unprepared. Soon, they realized he was not only a complete psycho, no; he also turned out to outclass them by far in terms of fighting capability.

He was so damn strong and he played his little games with them, boasting with knowledge about the Silver Millennium that rattled them to the bone.

His mere identity shocked them even more.

Laertes was the former Mercurian Senshi. That alone already came as a bombshell, because there had never been a male Senshi before. However, what made it even more traumatizing was that Methys had claimed the same about herself, which left them with two potential Mercurian Senshi. Who told the truth? Who was ally or foe? They didn't know what to believe anymore, and he only revealed more… things that did not go conform to what they have been told about the Silver Millennium: Two Mercurian Senshi, fighting against each other. The former Martian Senshi, Reina was named as the killer of Mercury's brother, Haruka's predecessor was accused to be ruthless bounty hunter out for the other Senshis' heads and the Lunarian Empire did neither lead the Silver Millennium, nor were all Senshi in service of Serenity. Rather they appeared to be busy beating each other's' heads in. The Silver Millenium turned out to be not the lost paradise, they always believed it to be.

A construct they had relied on for so long caved in on its own and they were left behind hanging at a gaping abyss.

Clueless and in danger.

At the mercy of a psychopath.

Laertes taunted and reveled in their confusion, but he came to kill the Senshi, most of all Methys, who had by that time taken complete command over Ami's body. The fight that broke out had been brutal, a battle executed by swords and tongue alike.

Methys fought tooth and nail against him while they… they simply stood no chance.

They were in the way, their attacks bounced off of him ineffectively and more than once they barely got away with their lives.

And despite all of her obnoxious behavior, despite her deception, Methys fought in their stead. For them. She defended them and even bled for them, when before she had stolen Ami out of their midst. Her taking of Ami's body had been equivalent with a death sentence for their beloved friend for all they knew and still she protected them. Her betrayal was followed by taking blows intended for them. Protecting the ones, she betrayed. An oxymoron indeed.

It had been so confusing.

She fought for them and still they despised her for what she did to Ami.

However, even all of her efforts were not enough to beat him. She lost, heavily injured and only Setsuna's time portals saved her form drowning in the pool Laertes had dropped her unconscious body into. In fact, the very same portals saved them all.

They fled to a place somewhere in space and time, where Laertes couldn't follow, a refugee provided by Setsuna's unique powers.

Methys barely survived her grave injuries and on top of that they had to deal with Ami's angry mother, who helped a great deal in saving her, but could barely fathom the fact that the true Ami was gone.

The aftermath had been chaotic and emotional.

They were left with the question what to do, how to beat an overpowered enemy like Laertes, who seemed to know more about them, than they apparently did.

Self-doubt, fear and blame had set in and instead of standing together, the pack of wolves had almost torn each other apart.

They didn't. At the end they didn't, but it was a close call. A barely obtained safe that had come with a cost. Their spats left hard feelings and opened old barely scabbed wounds.

For now, they might have pulled themselves together, but they all knew beneath the surface the volcano was still simmering, approaching eruption, in case the arising pressure proofed to be too much.

They had been lost, unsure what path to tread, unsure even of the paths they had treaded so far.

It was Methys, who gave them back a sense of direction in the strangest possible way. Although she was still unconscious and suffering from the consequences of her injuries, they had decided to use Michiru's mirror on her. The late Neptunian's talisman was supposed to answer their questions. It was supposed to show them Methys' memories upon asking her, what they wanted to know.

And they had a shitty catalogue of what they needed to know.

It was partly curiosity and to a greater deal desperate helplessness that drove them to give it a try.

And it backfired completely.

Instead of getting answers to their questions, they got to see memories; they did not expect to see at all.

Memories they did not even ask for, nor did they knew, they even existed in the first place.

They expected to see memories about the Silver Millennium, but got to know secrets about Ami and Methys.

Another eye-opener, that shook them again to the bones.

They already suspected that something was fishy about Ami's past and present alike. Some things just did not want to fit with what they knew about her. After the robbery Ami's bag had been recovered by the police and subsequently ended in their hands. Some of its contents left them completely mystified. Strange pills and an encoded book in particular. A book dated to a time when Ami was supposed to be dead just the same as all the Inner Senshi after their fight against Metallia.

They had not known what it meant and together with all the other things going on around them, they had not known where one problem started and the other ended.

And then witnessing Methys' memories first hand through the mirror finally revealed the truth.

They got to know things about Ami, things they hadn't known before, things she has kept secret. They more or less stumbled over them and when at the beginning nothing had made sense, things slowly started to unravel.

The wildest theories had formed when they first discovered the contents of her bag and only during the course of everything; they got to know the truth. The whole tangle finally unraveled and little by little a picture formed in front of their eyes. One they clearly hadn't expected. One that showed different parts of the story that had intertwined to form a huge confusing mess. Albeit a mess that finally made sense.

Ami's past was only one aspect of the whole picture. Before they have even met each other, she had already experienced rather unpleasant incidents in her life, the most impactful probably a rather unfortunate accident involving Ami's father, which not only resulted in Ami being bitten by a poisonous snake, but also in an estrangement between father and daughter that lasted until today.

Her injury had lasting effects as well. Ami got spasms whenever she exerted herself too much. Hence, she had to drop out of the swim club. Misplaced guilt, blame and hidden pain, probably on both sides, lead to Ami not seeing her father for years.

As if that wasn't enough, they got to know that Ami and Methys, as her Mercurian Senshi guardian, shared a close connection even from before she awakened as a Senshi. In fact, it had been Methys who saved her life, when she had been alone in the woods suffering from the snake poison and close to death.

From then on the two of them conversed regularly, a fact Ami kept hidden from everyone, even after she awakened as a Senshi and got to know all of them. She kept their relationship a secret all along and only Methys' recorded memory revealed that she had been planning to tell them about the hidden presence of her Mercurian guardian.

With the mess they have been in, it never was to be.

If the injuries Ami sustained during the robbery weren't already enough, the looming threat on the horizon drove Methys to drastic measures.

Knowing that Kato has awakened with the plan to kill all the Senshi, foremost Ami, Methys was forced to face that threat. And she could only do so with an actual body.

With them being clueless, it wasn't too surprising that they failed in protecting Ami from her. She took over, stole Ami from them and threw herself in a fight against Kato, she was doomed to lose.

And she lost.

However, unbeknownst to them she had also prepared for that scenario with Michiru's mirror as her key instrument. She had foreseen that they would use it. So, Methys manipulated the mirror to show them the things she couldn't tell them personally, while being unconscious and heavily injured.

They had consulted Michiru's mirror to get answers to their own questions and at the end it had shown them something completely different.

First, Ami's shared past with Methys.

Then, Methys had also made it show them her perspective from the things that happened, which made them finally understand all aspects and motivations behind her actions.

She was their ally. She had tried to save Ami and all of them.

Circumstances had forced her hand and still she had done her best to save Ami.

She told them that Ami's soul might have survived in the Mercurian Henshin Stick. Told them to retrieve it from Kato. And she also offered them glimpses into the past. Into the Silver Millennium. Into her own memories. She offered them insights that might help them to beat Kato. She left them a choice.

And they decided.

They decided to stand here, now.

It took them two days to get that far.

When they moved to Michiru's and Haruka's beach house, they hardly had a choice but to change location. Their own house had been compromised with Laertes knowing, where to find them. After all, he might be laying in wait for them, expecting their return. So, Setsuna had to redirect one of her portals to another place, where they could stay for the time being: their beach house. At the end, that part of the dilemma proved to be a godsend.

The beach house was beautiful, open and located at a magnificent coastline. It had given them a refugee, a safe haven and the opportunity to think things through in an environment that provided tranquility and peace.

They needed the time to become aware of the things that ailed them, to prepare for what was to come. To regain at least a semblance of inner balance.

To be as ready as they could be to see things through.

Each of them had their fair share of walks at the beach, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs.

Michiru herself spent most of her time in the pool. Water always soothed her. Every morning she jumped into the cold floods of the Kashima Golf to do her morning laps, enjoying the refreshing exercise. For the time in between Haruka barely left her side and she openly welcomed her presence, showering her in affection as best as she could. She might tell herself her open tenderness was for Haruka's sake, but it was much the same for her own. In fact, the both of them felt as if they had to solidify something. Something Michiru wasn't sure she truly doubted, nor was she sure that it still was what she thought it to always be. It was complicated and made absolutely no sense. She knew that and she guessed Haruka did, too. Their bond was still there, it wasn't breaking. Of that she was sure and maybe that was exactly what astonished her so much. When you expect things to change and they just don't, you do not trust that lack of something happening. You just expect it to be the calm before the storm. You wait for a fallout. You brace yourself. She was still waiting and maybe she was waiting for something that would never come true. She direly hoped so.

Still, she felt the need to strengthen her bond with Haruka, to examine its foundation, to look at it from a perspective, they never felt they needed to. It was clear something had changed, but it didn't have to be for the worse. Maybe they could come out of it stronger than before. Maybe it was a good thing to realize that their love was still there, even without the reassurance that it was destined to be. Maybe she could even feel better about it, now, knowing, that it was her choice alone to be with Haruka and not one committed by their Silver Millennium counterparts.

Looking on the bright side of things, the two of them had not snogged that frequently for a long time and she secretly welcomed the wandering hands, appreciating looks and rushed make out sessions in every more or less secluded corner, they could find. She might feel like a horny teenager, but besides the embarrassment of being caught by a smirking Minako of all things right in the middle of a very intense snogging session in the storage room, she had to admit it felt damn good. Surprisingly, the blonde did not rat them out in front of the others, at least if you ignored the constant shit-eating grin, she sported during dinner and her rather suggestive question towards Michiru, whether she found the melons ripe enough to have a taste.

And the snogging was only part of their daytime activities. During nighttime things got admittedly steamier. They had already caught Setsuna's ire, since she had the room right next to them and one of the first things on the list for grocery shopping were ear plugs.

However, facing Setsuna's wrath paled in comparison to the embarrassment she felt, when Hotaru noted at one point during breakfast that she thinks they had a raccoon problem, since she heard strange noises at night. Michiru had almost choked on her morning coffee and Haruka's knife had made a treacherous screeching sound on her plate, missing her bacon altogether. At that point, Minako had already opened her mouth to offer a lascivious response, when she flinched with a grimace. The following accusing look to her left made it apparent that Rei had kicked her under the table to shut her up.

For the sake of sustaining Hotaru's innocence and the one point in her world-view that was still child-like as it should be, Minako had finally relented. However, Michiru suspected she would only spare them in Hotaru's presence from the rightful teasing, they apparently deserved in her eyes.

Yes, Haruka and she spent direly needed time together, but they were also aware not to seclude themselves too much. It was something they had done in the past way too often. She had to remind herself they were a team and as such they were supposed to deal with trouble together. They had to vacate those mindsets of having to do everything on their own. It barely did them any good in the past anyway. With this aim in mind, Michiru made sure that they at least saw each other during lunch and dinner and she always kept an eye open, whether her presence was required for one thing or another. For Haruka it was considerably harder to … mingle. She still wallowed in guilt and self-pity due to the outburst she had with Michiru and Makoto as the unjust recipients of her wrath. A blatant loss of control that could not be excused, she had termed it once. Michiru encouraged her whenever she could, even if she had to stage encounters with the others, which was luckily not too hard with the tight space the beach house provided and the number of people squeezed into it. For the most part, the others did let the matter slide, labeling it as a stress-induced venting mechanism to let loose the pent-up frustration all of them felt. Still, Haruka insisted that she had been the only one to lose her cool like that. Michiru knew, for her it was that weakness, she loathed the most, although the other unsolved issue hanging in the air came a close second place.

Said issue had a name.

And that was Makoto.

The person whose forgiveness Haruka needed the most, wasn't providing any of the sorts till now.

In fact, Makoto barely left Methys' sick bed, until Minako coaxed her into the kitchen with her open threats to cook herself. In fact, the blond whirlwind was more than eager to be wherever she was needed, be it simply as a shoulder to lean on, to talk or just to goof around pulling them out of their sometimes too morose thoughts. They all worried for Makoto the most. She was the quietest during their discussions and kept to herself the most. A constant frown never left her features and her brown eyes harbored so much pain and sadness. Whenever she talked, she had taken up a bitter and sarcastic attitude. She still did not talk to Haruka after their explosive fight that had ended in trading insults and actual hits with Haruka. The racer had tried to make some half-heartened amends. However, it became apparent that apologizing wasn't one of Haruka's strong suits and Makoto shot her down, before she got more than a few words over her lips. That way they wouldn't get far, that much was for sure. Michiru had tried to mediate between the two, but Makoto had made it clear that she didn't want to talk to Haruka right now and everyone who tried to encourage a discussion to resolve their issues got the same treatment. Firm refusal and relentless stubbornness.

Michiru had given it up for now, accepting that the two had to act in their own pace. Enforcing to talk things out just wasn't working with them. Maybe giving them some space would. Maybe they needed to bash each other's head in. Whatever was the case, as soon as the right time was right, Michiru was ready to lend a helping hand.

Setsuna spent a great deal of her time conversing with Ami's mother. There were still open questions and the time Senshi wanted to sort out their differences, before they evolved into something even more serious. They didn't want to have her against them. After all, they needed her help and they had enough fights on their platter without her as an additional adversary. They needed to assuage her rightful anger about what happened to her daughter and their role in it. For the time being things had gotten better between them and they had kept their sides of the bargain, they struck. Still, Setsuna was painfully aware, just as much as Michiru was, that Ami's mother could quickly turn into a loose cannon as soon as she saw her daughter threatened. Their truce had a thin fundament and still lacked a good deal of trust. They had to build that up, brick by brick if necessary.

Rei meditated frequently in front of a self-made fire at the beach for hours. Besides that, she took over watch duty, whenever they managed to convince Makoto to vacate her lone watch. Sometimes, she also kept her company. Her injuries were fully healed by now.

Hotaru had made it her personal agenda to cheer up Usagi. With Minako as happy collaborator they managed to get her into better spirits, typically with Rei suffering through their pranks and silly games. She did not mind too much, though, still a tad bit guilty about handling the leadership debate the wrong way and thereby causing Usagi more sorrow. They had not talked about it again and for now abided to Usagi's wishes, hoping she would come around in the future on her own. They wouldn't put more pressure on her though.

All in all, the situation had calmed down a tad bit, and the few days to de-stress had paid off tremendously for all of them. It might not solve any of their many problems, but it made them lighter.

However, nothing could gloss over the blatant hole in their circle. Ami's absence was more than apparent. When constructing their various theories about the Silver Millennium, her scientific input was desperately missed. During whatever crisis they faced so far, she had been a reliable constant, a source of knowledge, and a competent strategist, but most of all she had been a center of calm and reason. It was noticeable how much the Inners missed her presence by how often her name popped up in random conversations. It was always accompanied with a wave of sadness and still they refused to stop mentioning her, as if doing so would make her part of their little group. As if her physical absence meant less, when she was at least always in their thoughts. As if including her would make them miss her less. Michiru knew, it did not work very well and still the lot of them remained stubborn.

Methys had not awoken once in the time they had been here. Ami's mother assured them her condition was stable and improving, but only slowly. For a Senshi it could be even considered at a snail's pace. She must have been completely spent after her fight with Laertes. Their injuries typically healed faster, but it was as if she had barely any magical power left. And it did not help that she had plenty to heal. The stab through her shoulder had barely missed her lung and according to Dr. Mizuno it had damaged her collarbone and severed muscles and even tendons. The fact that it had been an ice spike caused even more damage to the surrounding tissue than a normal stab wound. It resulted in necrotic tissue comparable to a freezer burn. Healing would take its time. Compared to her other arm this injury however almost looked tame. That arm had been broken in two places, Radius and Ulna alike. Due to Kato twisting her arm the fractures had not been clean, but accompanied with splinters, which had been stuck in the tissue prone to wandering. The Doctor had done her best to remove them and set the bones right, but even Setsuna had looked almost greenish after assisting her during the surgery. The Doctor had also insisted to put the arm in a cast, afterwards. Her shoulder joint had been even worse. Since Kato had applied physical force after dislocating her shoulder, it had taken quite some damage and Dr. Mizuno's greatest worry had been that she would not be able to move it properly even after it healed. With a troubled expression she had told them only time would tell. Given Ami's previous problems with her arm due to the snakebite, that possible outcome had given Ami's mother the most trouble. After the surgery she had been barely responsive for over an hour. Usagi had finally dared to talk to her, trying to abate some of her fears. Senshi were after all very sturdy. As soon as she would have some magical power back, the injuries were likely to heal better than they would for every normal person.

They had to believe it and if they were entirely unlucky and it wasn't the case, they had to deal with it on a later time point. They could not worry about eventualities, when they already had their hands full with the realities. After all there were a lot of steps in between until they truly had to worry about that.

Her other injuries were rather minor in comparison, but still bothersome. Her mother had treated the scrapes and cuts carefully, applying bandages and plasters where needed to avoid any infections from spreading. All they could do now was waiting and having an eye on her.

It wasn't as if they hadn't already vast experience in that aspect.

Way too much to be honest.

It was as if they did nothing else in those last days than waiting for her to wake up.

It was frustrating and knowing that even if she woke up, it wouldn't be Ami anymore made it even more depressing.

Usagi had once even suggested to use the healing power of the Silver Crystal on her, but after the last disaster, they were not willing to risk an outcome like that again, at least not if her condition did not take a dire turn for the worse. Rei had commented rather bluntly: "I might burn her for real this time, if I have to thaw her out of another ice coffin." So, for the time being, they decided not to interfere in her healing process, hoping that time was all she needed.

However, they would not wait for her to wake up. That was clear from the beginning.

The mirror promised Intel and awake or not, they would use the opportunity Methys provided.

However, their plans harbored one fundamental flaw. One detail, that didn't sit right with any of them. One they couldn't change, no matter what they did. It was obvious. They would dive into those memories, while being one Senshi short. Whatever they would see in there, Ami wouldn't see it. Michiru considered it entirely unfair, since Methys was her Senshi guardian and she had been closest to her. The memories they had seen with the two of them together made it obvious, how much Ami wanted to know about Methys, how often she had pestered her about revealing her past. The fact that she was the only one, who wouldn't share that experience with them, was just not right.

She told herself that it might get terrible in there and that she would at least be spared from the more gruesome details.

She told herself, she couldn't change it.

She told herself that it shouldn't matter, when they did not even know for sure, whether Ami was still alive at all.

And still it mattered.

She deserved it more than anyone to be a part of this. And still she wouldn't be.

It was a fact, they had to accept.

They had to do this without her.

Michiru stood in the circle all attention focused on her. Instinctively, her left hand reached for Haruka's, squeezing hers gently while her other clammy one clenched on cold metal. Her Silver Mirror. Her talisman. She had never felt so nervous holding it. Well, to be honest she had never truly known what she was holding. Now, her feelings were mixed, whenever she touched the smooth and cool surface: something between awe-inspiring, reluctant and frightened. And she felt something else she had once taken for granted, something she might have registered but never truly understood. Power.

_Am I worthy of that power? Will I do it right this time?_

Haruka's hand squeezed hers a bit tighter, pulled her out of her dark musings as if she knew to what places her mind had wandered.

_Well, she probably does know. Hers wanders there, too, way too frequently._

Michiru exhaled shakily. A soft hand touched the back of her hand, the one holding her mirror. She looked to her right and Hotaru's mesmerizing violet eyes gazed at her reassuringly.

_Man, I still remember, when I had to reassure her. Kids grow so fast these days._

She didn't say that, but just smiled back at her gratefully.

Then, she lifted her talisman for everyone to see and her eyes strayed to every single Senshi standing their ground in the circle, transformed and as ready as they will ever be. Her comrades in arms. The ones she shared the same fate with. Her friends. Her family. Her beloved ones.

And in this moment, she vowed to herself, that whatever she would get to know, whatever would be revealed to them, they would always be that first and foremost.

"Ready?" She asked with a small smile just to make sure, knowing that whatever responses she got, would hardly be the truth.

Fittingly, nobody said a word.

She just got small smiles and nervous nods in return.

_No one is ready, but here we go!_

And then they joined the circle by putting their hands on the shoulders of the ones next to them. Only Haruka kept holding her hand, giving it another reassuring squeeze.

Michiru exhaled loudly and finally uttered the words that were the beginning in a literal and figurative sense: "How it all begun…"

Instantly, the mirror in her hand started to glow and the scenery started to blur into rainbow colors, just the same as it happened before. Michiru was prepared for it now, and she wasn't too astonished when the colors were replaced by a sea of pristine white.

The void. That's how Methys had called it.

The place they could return to when there were not directly experiencing a memory in the mirror, but decided against leaving it altogether. Michiru wasn't too fond of it and already vowed to herself that she would try her best to limit the time they had to spend here.

The others looked at her and Minako questioned a tad bit irritated. "That's it? I thought it was to start right away. Is there something else we are supposed to do?"

A good question. One she had no answer for. Methys had just told them the key sentence she repeated just now, nothing more. She had expected the same as Minako. To be thrown right away into the fray.

Hotaru shrugged. "Maybe repeat it?"

"Well, there won't be any harm in giving it another try… How it all begun…"

For a moment nothing happened and Michiru got a tad bit frustrated for building up such a tension for days for absolutely nothing.

Then the white suddenly got less dense and swirls of color took its place. The diffuse blurs took form and materialized to a familiar room. It was the Outers' living room and just like the last time they were here it was in the middle of the night, and Michiru's mirror was lying on the kitchen table emitting a cerulean glow. Methys sat right in front of it, her hands folded in front of her, just the same way the left her the last time they were here. She looked at the mirror which gave her aquamarine eyes an even eerier glint. The very mirror that was recording every word she said.

"So, you are back. I can't say I am surprised." She gave a small smile. "You are kinda predictable, but well, … at least I don't go through the hassle of doing this late-night shift and kinda depressing monologue for nothing."

She looked up and a reminiscent expression appeared on her face, that was still basked in blue lights and stark shadows. It made her look unreal, like a wooden puppet with sharp corners and edges. Like a haggard corpse with waxen skin. Her croaked smiled withered, betraying her mixed feelings and her whole body seemed to sag a bit.

"So, this is actually going to happen. You are going to listen to our story. To a story that has been lost in oblivion for millennia. This is… well to be honest I don't really know, what to think of it. On the one hand, I might not be too eager to tell you about everything, as I have already made clear abundantly. However, there is also a part of me that is … relieved. That relief stems from a simple fact: This might be my last chance to ever tell this to someone. And maybe I will feel better about some of it, when I finally do talk about it. Not, that this is really talking to someone, since it's just me here, but if nothing else it makes it easier to reminisce, when I don't have to look you into the face. And … it… there are also good things to remember. Plenty of them. That's what makes this so hard. The people involved in this story deserve more than being forgotten. For all their efforts and sacrifices, for everything they were, everything they fought for, they deserve to be remembered. So, it's maybe not all bad, if you finally get to know.

I thought for quite some time where to start. You probably think the beginning would be a good choice. The beginning of the Silver Millennium. Well, it's not so easy to define an exact time point, and although I have a pretty good idea when I want to start with this tale, you need more than that to understand the circumstances surrounding that very idea, that you call the Silver Millennium.

Not to boast, but I played a great part in it, so maybe it's best to start with myself. After all, you will see everything from my perspective, so I guess it's time to tell you who I truly am. My full name is Azkadelia Methys Ingui Kaveri, quite a tongue-twister, I know, but that's what royal traditions in naming their offspring come up with over the course of millennia. I was the Crown Princess of the Mercurian Empire born as the one and only daughter of King Zahander and Queen Anairin. Since the Mercurian Empire is a matriarchate, I was thought to be the next Queen in line and raised as such. From a very young age I was trained in well, basically everything you can think of: weaponry, science, diplomacy, history and politics. The Mercurian society was known for putting much value in education and skill and it was requested even more so from its future Queen. After all, we had a reputation to keep up, we had an image to uphold as the leading Empire of the ten worlds, we needed strong leadership to maintain that hard-earned status. In terms of technical and scientific advances we were respected, even feared and it guaranteed that no one dared to attack us.

You might ask of what attackers I speak of? Well, for once the other kingdoms. You have known only about the Lunarian Empire, but apparently there were others. You will get to know mostly about the Mercurian Empire, since it was, well… my home, but each world was ruled by an individual kingdom. And unfortunately, as it is often with neighboring countries, not all was well between the Empires. There was an active truce between us, but that didn't mean we had tranquil peace and fruitful collaborations. There were squabbles and rivalries, old enmities and resentments and each Empire cared first and foremost for their own people, working for their benefit alone. The Senshi thereby represented their greatest military asset; pillars of strength to serve as a warning to whoever considered pursuing their animosities on the battlefield. However, the pact held until I was about five. At that time an alien force invaded our galaxy and we had to stand together to hold them off. It was then that it got apparent how torn our alliance truly was. Being divided made us weak and we lost plenty of the initial battles for that very reason. However, with these losses it got clear that we needed to band together to survive and beat an enemy, we could not overcome on our own. So, that's what we did. Or at least we tried. It was the Plutonian Queen Setsna who called for a meeting to form a military alliance with enough striking power to beat our adversary. As to be expected it ended in quarrels, accusations and distrust. Not all were willing to participate in the fights to come. They used other excuses of course, but in the end the underlying motivations were not so much a secret. Some thought they might come out on top of the others exploiting advantages or gaining territory, when their rivals were weakened from engaging another enemy. Others were not willing to set aside their ambitions of leadership in this alliance and some considered it more feasible to sacrifice soldiers of the other Empires than their own. There were plenty of mostly selfish reasons playing their part in ensuring that we didn't find common ground even at the threat of being wiped out.

At the end only five Empires banded together to fend off the aggressors: The Mercurians, The Neptunians, The Lunarians, the Jovians and the Plutonians. A huge decisive battle took place and finally we defeated their leader. The Senshi at that time, as the most powerful fighters of their respective worlds played a great role in the win, earning their places as respected heroes. However, our triumph was paid in blood. Plenty of it. In that very same battle, my father died and with his death Mercury lost its King. Jupiter lost its Senshi and the Plutonian home world located in the farthest Outer Rim suffered tremendous damage and lots of civilian casualties. After that, so called victory, peace was installed back, but the outcome of the battle and the refusal of the other five nations to partake in it left even deeper rifts and opened the doors for further animosities between the Empires, even amongst the victors. When I grew up the situation was tense for plenty of years already. My mother was strict, preparing me for the role of being Queen, a role I was already aware early on, I was not eager to take. At that time most people believed war was unavoidable and only a matter of time. A powder keg waiting for the slightest spark. That's how I grew up.

The first memory I want to show you, took place on Mercury when I was seventeen. It's… well, I should rather let you watch it first, before I comment. I already said enough and it speaks for itself. That's why I chose it after all. We'll see each other afterwards…"

They didn't have to wait for long. Methys' sitting form blurred again and was replaced by a strange scenery. For a moment, they thought to be back in the void but instead of white wavering blue surrounded them. Their forms floated again and they turned to find out, where they ended up.

Then they discovered another floating form. One that actually truly floated. Short blueish hair and a few of thin braids seemed to defy gravity. It was a young Methys and her body looked as if she was frozen in the midst of falling. Only when some air bubbles left her mouth they realized where they truly were.

In the midst of water.

They were under water.

Methys dived right through their group and they followed her swimming form.

Finally, she broke through the water surface and took a deep breath.

She looked at her wrist where a strange technical device was attached. "Seven minutes, forty-six." She sighed. "Not long enough. I need to get better."

The same device started beeping and she made a face. "Well, apparently not today."

"Stop timer!" She commanded in a rather neutral voice, and the beeping ceased immediately.

She started to swim to the bank. And for the first time they got a look at their surroundings. They were in a large lake, which was surrounded by the weirdest greenery they have ever seen. From the layout the plants seemed to be arranged, like in a park, but the trees and bushes looked nothing like what they knew. The greenery was not really green; in fact, the strange plants sported purple or red leaves, trees with roots that seemed to stem from the branches, connecting each tree with the next. Plenty of these air roots drifted in the water looking like snakes curling around each other in the stream. It almost looked like a tangled bawl of wool. In between grew some strange bushes which sported blossoms that seemed to glow.

Diverse little streams, canals and larger waterways connected the lake to other ponds and lakes of various sizes. It was a maze-like network of water streets and myriads of little islands, peppered with all kind of bridges that connected the dot-like soil to paths.

The sun shone above them a tad bit larger than they were used to and low on the horizon. In fact, it almost looked like a blood moon on Earth, since the color was a tad bit off. On second glance something else was weird with it, well entirely weird with the sky as a whole. It seemed to flicker. They could also spot some strange technical platforms floating in the sky.

Were those satellites?

However, the most astonishing fact about their surroundings were the waterways itself. Some of them flowed upwards and with upwards vertically into the sky was meant. The element seemed to annul gravity completely, like a waterfall that had forgotten that it was supposed to flow the other way around.

How the hell was that even possible?

While all of them stared at it with open mouths, Methys acted as if nothing was amiss. She reached the bank of the lake and then left the water at a point that wasn't completely covered by air and water roots. She drunk some sips of water out of a bottle, and stretched, some of her joints popping with the languid motion. Then she yawned lazily, blinking into the dimmed sun. It was now, that they got a good look at her. She wore something that resembled a surfing suit in faded blue and silver colors, only that arms and legs were bare. It looked used as if she had worn it a thousand times already and in some areas it even had small holes. When she turned, they saw that a great deal of her back was bare though, revealing lean muscles under pale skin. Her short wet hair dripped onto her shoulders and they noticed that only the left side of her head sported hair equal to Ami's length. The hair on the right side was way longer and braided along the skin of her head messily. The end of the braid reached down to her shoulder blades. She looked younger than the Methys they knew and even more like Ami, at least if you ignored the different hair style.

She was the only one around. Otherwise, the exotic park-like area seemed vacated.

Methys grabbed a towel lying on the ground and started to dry her hair which made it stand in all directions as if electrified. Longer strands came loose and touched her right shoulder. Right next to it on the ground was a worn gray robe. There were no shoes.

Suddenly, her wrist device gave another signal, a short piece of music that sounded similar to a ringtone. Methys pressed a bottom, before she spoke. "Yes?"

"Where are you?" A male and melodious voice asked.

"On my way. You didn't have to remind me." Was her short reply, while she grabbed the robe.

The guy on the other line grunted approvingly. "That's not why I am calling. Take the west wall at the Rubrum tree. The Jovian delegation just arrived. Everyone will be at the main entrance."

A small smile appeared on her lips. "Will do. Thanks for the notification, Natai."

The voice continued. "Just a warning. Krana is already looking for you."

Methys groaned. "She has four hours left. That's more than enough. There is absolutely no reason to panic."

"You know her. For her there is always a reason to panic, even if she had 24 hours at her disposal."

"True. She can wait a bit longer and torture someone else in the meantime."

"Are you trying to throw me under the bus?" He asked mockingly.

"Depends. If you find no one else, that would be acceptable." She joked.

"Fine, I play the distraction, but you owe me."

"You mean more than I already do? Obviously. The rest went smoothly?"

There was an offended huff on the other end that sounded equally playful. "Of course, it did. You are not doubting me, are you?"

Methys smirked. "Never."

"Then move your ass here. Uncle Altan destroyed me the third time in Amaralian chess just now. It's time somebody shows him the error in his ways of not letting the host win like a polite guest should do. That way you can already start repaying your depts."

Methys laughed out loud. "Don't worry, dear brother, I will restore your honor."

"You better do…" Then the line clicked and he was gone.

Methys smiled a dorky smile, then shook her head briefly and started to walk through the park, still completely drenched after her swimming endeavor. Her pace was quick and single-minded. In the mace of bridges and small paths she knew exactly, which one to take. When she rounded a small copse with more of these strange silver-barked trees with the air roots, she suddenly halted.

A confused frown appeared on her face and one astonished eyebrow vanished in her hairline. "What the…"

Still a bit in the distance was a small bridge made of a whitish glittering substance that might be something in the middle of glass and marble. On the opposite end of the bridge there was another person, the first one they have seen here. Methys appeared to be astonished by her mere presence, observing her from afar. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

The woman was clad in multiple layers of fleeting gown-like robes, a richly ornamented mantle draped over her shoulders like a cape, but what made all of them gasp was her long hair.

It was blond and bound to two very familiar pigtails.

That…

All eyes darted immediately to Usagi, who had her hand in front of her mouth in shock.

Her hairstyle.

_Serenity. That must be Serenity._

* * *

_AN: So, that's it for now. I thought including a small summary of what happened in Part 1 in such a manner might be useful and only then I noticed how much really happened. It was actually harder to put it altogether than I thought. In the last part I kept you waiting long enough for them to finally watch the memories Methys provided, so we will dive straight into the fray this time. As always I am happy to read your thoughts. Until next time (and I promise it won't be that long again. In fact, I plan to return to my monthly schedule)._


	2. A Fateful Encounter

_AN: Next chapter is up. Here we dive headfirst into the first fateful meeting of Methys and Serenity. Enjoy._

* * *

_Previously_

_Following the empty path, a confused frown appeared on Methys' face. "What the…"_

_Still a bit in the distance was a small bridge made of a whitish glittering substance that might be something in the middle of glass and marble. On the opposite end of the bridge there was another person, the first one they have seen here. Methys appeared to be astonished by her mere presence, observing her from afar. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously._

_The woman was clad in multiple layers of fleeting gown-like robes, a richly ornamented mantle draped over her shoulders like a cape, but what made all of them gasp was her long hair._

_It was blond and bound to two very familiar pigtails._

* * *

_That…_

_All eyes darted immediately to Usagi, who had her hand in front of her mouth in shock._

Her hairstyle.

_Serenity. That must be Serenity._

_That or it had been just common to wear your hair like that._

Methys stood still as if rooted to the spot, apparently shell-shocked by the appearance of the unexpected being. She skeptically gauged her from the distance, a troubled frown on her face. Suddenly, the woman on the bridge leaned over the handrails, stretching out her hand. It appeared almost comical from their point of view, how she hopped on the spot, up and down, her fingers trying to reach a tree branch that protruded far over the river.

They could see a spot of color there. Was it a blossom?

Methys cocked her head to the side skeptically, still unsure whether she was imagining things. Then she tapped again on her wrist device, without taking her eyes from her, watching her every movement closely.

"Natai?" She asked into thin air.

The response was almost immediate. "What is it, now, dearest sister of mine?"

Methys ignored the jest and rather asked in a strange tone. "Have the Venusians already arrived?" She still watched diligently with apparent confusion on her face, when the woman started to wave her arms around in a frantic way, before climbing on the rails.

"No, they are scheduled for later."

A frown appeared on her face. "Of course not. The Lunarians then?"

"Two hours ago. They were immediately escorted to their quarters at the very end of the 4th floor of the Viridian Palais as per order of our cherished Queen. I did not see them, yet. She instructed Atget to do it." He explained tersely, but with an undertone of sarcasm.

"I see. Thank you." She closed the connection. Looking at the blond woman for a last time and making a face of unnerved disbelief, she turned on her heels. An annoyed sigh escaped her lips, when she started to walk away. "A different path then…"

However, when she made the second step back the way she came, a sudden shriek caught her attention. She whirled around and she turned just in time to see the blond woman tumble over the edge of the bridge in a heap that looked entirely ungraceful. With a huge splash and a girly shriek, she vanished in the water in a tangle of limbs, fabric and silk.

For a moment, Methys just gaped, her mouth had gone slack.

Then, she blinked… only to blink again.

She looked left and right, apparently searching for something that was not miraculously jumping out of the trees.

Then she groaned, rolling her eyes in utter disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me…"

The troubled frown was edged into her grim face, now, but she remained frozen, paralyzed by her own indecision.

Caught in the middle of wanting to run and wanting to stay, she stared at the bubbling water, waiting for the blonde to resurface. Her muscles were tense like a hurdler in the starting blocks and still she held herself back and remained rooted to the spot.

"No, you stay where you are… This is not your business…" She mumbled to herself in a self-reprehensive tone, her fists clenching anxiously.

However, her frown only deepened.

She must have realized that besides air bubbles nothing resurfaced, she must have seen that the water was deep and that the current was strong at that particular spot. And with so many clothes on, swimming must be tough. Maybe she even hit her head in that summersault of a fall…

They could almost see those thoughts whirling in her head, fighting with her obvious reluctance to get involved.

Finally, something seemed to snap and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Argh, just screw it…" Methys cursed vehemently and sprinted towards the bridge. Towel and mantle fell without any care, before she dived headfirst into the water.

They followed her seeing what she saw, which wasn't much to be honest. Underwater, Methys turned around frantically, searching for a glimmer of blond, a glimpse of white silk, something that wasn't murky blue.

Where was she?

Methys continued to search looking left and right, up and down, her aquamarine mane surrounding her head like a moving fluffy cloud, whenever she turned her neck. Finally, she resurfaced.

The current was indeed strong and she had to swim actively to stay on the spot.

She briefly touched her earlobe, where they could spot a familiar stud. "Activate thermal imager!" She ordered briskly.

"Thermal Imager activated." An automated voice responded and a pair of googles manifested in front of her eyes. They could see strange signs appear and disappear on the surface covering her left eye.

These were like Ami's virtual reality visor, when she transformed into Mercury.

"Thermal signature detected." The automated voice informed her.

She swam with the current in a break neck speed. "Yeah, I am on it. Specify." She sputtered in between her strokes.

"Coordinates N53.146, E18.783. Distance 19 meters to NNW. Moving at 12 km/h downstream towards the 156th gravity cooling stream. Core temperature 36.5°C. Declining. Probability of being human 99.4%. Probability of being female 97.1%. Weight 56 kg. Approximate volume 63.3 L. Average density…"

"Yeah, believe it or not, but I don't need her cup size. Is the target moving on its own?" Methys interrupted the waterfall of calculations sarcastically.

"Negative."

"Explains the lack of screeching…" She panted dryly between her swim strokes.

"Specify request."

"Forget it, is the target underwater?"

"Positive. Target heat signature is detected 20 cm below the water surface."

She grimaced. "Figures."

"Specify type of the requested figure!"

"What?! No! Not that figure. I meant figures in a … ahem figurative sense...?"

"Specify that definition."

Methys rolled her eyes. "It's called sarcasm."

"Query could not be proces…"

"Disable voice output." They could hear a beeping sound and an annoyed huff from Methys. "Reminder to myself. Explain to Atget that per the regulations it's not required to be the _exact_ prototype she used before. When did she update that thing the last time? Must have been before I was born."

They could see that her googles were still activated even during swimming.

She halted a moment to orient herself, finally spotting a whiff of white fabric. "Aah, there you are. And drifting where you definitely shouldn't drift to..."

Methys' worried gaze was now fixed on the blond woman and they could see her problem. The current was even stronger now, and pulled her unconscious form directly to one of the streams, that was directed upwards. The wild waters tossed her around like a boneless puppet and soon it looked as if she was flying, caught in the middle of the water pillar like a ghost surrounded by wafting foulards.

"Oh no, you won't." But it was too late. She was already pulled upwards.

Soon after, Methys reached the stream and let herself be pulled upwards as well, holding her breath. However, she never stopped swimming or in this case rather diving. She had almost reached her and tried to grasp a piece of her clothing. The first time her fingers slipped, but with her second try she could grasp the hem of her sleeve. They drifted and tumbled around each other, floating higher and higher, and she could barely keep her hold on her, but Methys somehow managed to pull her form to her own body. She put her arms around her waist, hugging her closely from behind, and managed to propel the both of them forward with a quick boast from her legs.

And then they fell.

Ending up outside of the vertical water stream, gravity took hold and pulled them down relentlessly.

Methys somehow managed to control their fall, maneuvering herself to the bottom with the blond woman on top.

Their fall ended abruptly in a big splash and a gush of air bubbles. Methys grunted audibly before the sound was swallowed by the water corpse.

When they resurfaced Methys briefly grimaced in pain and dragged the unconscious Lunarian along, while keeping her head above the water. The strong current relentlessly pulled at the both of them, back towards where they came from, but Methys resisted, although her movements appeared to be a bit less smooth than before.

They could hear her growl defiantly. "Nope, we are not going for another round."

Methys struggled with the blonde's different layers of floating clothing that tended to get in her way, but managed to pull her unmoving ballast to the shore as quickly as she could.

She dragged her onto solid ground, wincing briefly upon heaving her out of the water. Seeing her unmoving form up close a spark of panic had appeared in her eyes. Immediately, she checked for a pulse and breathing and started reanimation.

"Come on, don't bite the dust. That would definitely put me in a bad light."

She continued with her frantic ministrations and finally the blonde spat out a gulp of water.

Methys immediately turned her to the side to help her regain her breath and get the residual water out of her airways. "Hey, are you ok?" She shook her gently, but got no response. Apparently, she had fallen unconscious again right after expelling out the water from her lungs. Methys checked again for pulse and breathing and finding both she finally leaned back, utter relief on her face.

She exhaled shakily and her tense shoulders slumped.

Then she carefully rubbed her side right beneath her ribcage and flinched upon touching the tender area. "Figures that you have pointy elbows and almost manage to accidently knock me out."

Concentrating on her again, she seemed to be at a loss. "Ok, you are not dead. That's already an achievement. You breathe normally, your heart beats regularly and your liver is probably also a lot better than mine is at the moment. So, why won't you wake up?" She noticed that her legs were still halfway in the water, so she heaved her body a bit farther on shore.

Then she requested: "Conduct medical checkup!"

More numbers and calculations appeared in the visor of her googles and she mumbled. "Ok, nothing broken, no internal bleeding and your lungs appear to be in working order as well. So, what's your problem?"

Suddenly, she halted when she spotted something and her hand darted into wet blond hair, brushing it aside. The bump at her hairline was now nicely visible. "So, you truly hit your head. Excellent." Methys sighed miserably, looking her over even more lost than before and a tad bit apprehensive.

"And if that isn't already bad enough, it has to be you. I wasn't mistaken. I could have gotten at least a maid or an aide. No, I have to hit the jackpot. Why does it have to be the Lunarian Crown Princess?! Damn it. What the hell am I going to do with you?"

She looked at her more intently, an internal battle mirrored on her face.

Then, she sighed miserably while muttering under her breath.

"Guess, I don't have a choice. I need to call for medical assistance. That's going to be fun to explain for sure. If I am lucky, they are _only_ going to insinuate, I shoved you off that bridge." She already reached for the device on her wrist with a look as if she would rather toss her back into the water, when Serenity groaned miserably.

Methys halted her movements hunkering over her. "Hey, are you awake? Are you ok?" She asked hopefully, probably seeing a last chance to avoid calling for help.

Serenity groaned again and her slender hand wandered to her head. "Argh, what… man what a strange dream…"

"Dream? I assure you this is no dream not even a nightmare. Well, at least not yours…" The last part she mumbled to herself.

Serenity flinched immediately, not completely there yet and apparently not even remotely grasping what Methys said. "Wahh, who… what…" She hastily crawled a bit backwards on her elbows upon having a stranger that close just after awakening from whatever she thought she was awakening from. "Ahem, Hi?" She questioned sheepishly.

Methys looked at her dumbfounded. "Hi."

Her sky-blue eyes jumped around frantically, before they fully settled on her. "Who are you? What…"

"You fell off the bridge and nearly drowned. I got you out of the water." She tried to explain, cocking her head to the side, trying to get a better look at her eyes without being too imposing. "Do you remember? Does your head feel ok?"

"Oh, so that's why I am completely drenched and… why it is so cold." She had goosebumps on her exposed skin and shivered. Clumsily, she pulled her arms to her body and hugged herself, completely ignoring Methys' questions.

"Your head. You bumped your head." Methys pointed out again, trying to find out, whether it caused some lasting effects. "Does it hurt?"

Suddenly, the blonde stiffened. "You are a Mercurian."

Methys blinked. "The last time I checked, I was, yes?

Her eyes seemed to light up immediately. "Wow, I am talking to a true Mercurian. That is … so exciting…."

Methys looked as if she wasn't entirely sure, whether she made fun of her. "Well, you are on Mercury. So, that might … happen at some point."

"Oh, true, I am, am I not?" She beamed at her and Methys eyed her with a scrutinizing gaze, clearly pondering about how hard she had hit her head to cause _that_ kind of behavior.

Suddenly, Serenity seemed to remember something; her posture straightened up considerably and her face morphed into a more or less regal expression. It took them some time to get that she actually remembered her manners. Blushing briefly, she extended her hand in an overly graceful gesture that screamed nobility, granting her a smile that was guilty and nervous in equal parts. "It's an honor to meet you."

Methys eyed her outstretched hand suspiciously, as if it was luring trap ready to snap close as soon as she grasped it. Apparently, the gesture had caught her completely off guard and you could almost see the wheels turning in her head. This drenched and shaking mess of a clearly concussed princess thought it was appropriate to resort to formal handshaking at this point of their conversation. These kinds of mannerisms couldn't be inepter in their predicament. Frozen to the spot, Methys still looked for a trap, for a hidden agenda, a malicious intent, something she had overlooked.

Finding none of it, she reluctantly put her own hand forward and shook it awkwardly.

Serenity appeared pleased. "Well, that's not exactly the situation I had in mind for initiating first contact, but well…" She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Beggars cannot be choosers."

She winced slightly, retracting her hand from her head quickly.

A worried frown appeared on Methys' face upon seeing her reaction. "How badly does it hurt?"

Serenity winked dismissingly at her, that smile that appeared to permanently fixed to her face still in full bloom. "Bah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it. It just stung a little." She was momentarily distracted by a fresh breeze of wind dancing though the purple tree leaves. An iridescent blossom detached and was carried by the gentle breeze right in front of her face. Serenity caught it with a revered gentleness and cupped the pulsing petal in her hands, lost in utter awe.

"Woah, your world is so beautiful. How do these plants even glow? And all these water channels going up and down… it's so cool…" She rambled on, excited like a bubbly kid that was one step away from bouncing on her feet.

"You almost drowned in one of those channels." Methys noted dryly, raising a skeptical eyebrow upon her scatterbrained behavior that was paired with the attention span of a two-year-old.

"Really?" She definitely sounded more enthused than anyone should be about getting to know about her very recent near-death experience.

"Was I pulled up there?" She pointed excitingly at one of the streams going up.

Methys was still looking for the ambiguous part of that question, before she responded kinda reluctantly. "Uh, yes?"

"Man, and I can't remember a thing…" She pouted. "Does it feel like flying? Like being in space? Is the view from up there as awesome as I imagine?"

"Kind of." An amused smile tugged on Methys' lips, although she tried her best to smother it to a more neutral expression. However, there was still irritation leaking through, and to a lesser part suspicion.

Suddenly, a violent shiver went through Serenity's body. "God, it's really frigging cold here." Her hands rubbed her arms to bring back some warmth into her stiff limbs.

"Ahem, you sure you don't have a concussion?" Methys asked clearly skeptical. "I can get you some medical assistance, if you need it." She clearly did not want to fetch anyone given a choice, but felt obliged to offer it anyway.

"Bahh, I am fine. They just try to stick me with their pointy needles again. My mother can fix it later on. She has loads of practice with concussions and the last times felt definitely different." She dismissed her with a radiant smile.

Methys almost didn't seem to dare asking. "The last times?"

"When I had a concussion, I mean… I was dizzy and I talked total nonsense all the time, while being really hyper… and I just couldn't stop smiling." Methys did not look as if that additional knowledge reassured her very much, when she compared it with the behavior of the Lunarian right in front of her.

"And one time I even started singing at random… but the worst was when I started hugging random people and just refused to let go. That for sure was awkward. Half of the court turned scarlet for the next month as soon as they spotted me."

Methys looked slightly taken aback, eying her arms suspiciously, as if she expected to be smothered in a merciless bear hug any second. "How many concussions did you already have?" She asked bewildered not sure, whether she truly wanted to know.

Serenity laughed awkwardly. "Well, you know I tend to run into things headfirst, or I fall over my own two feet, or other stuff that's lying around, where it shouldn't be, oh and stairs, they are a total menace. I think this time I slipped on my gown. I mean they know not to make the seams too long."

Methys appeared out of her depth. "I … see. You probably should see a doctor anyway." She suggested clearly not convinced that her behavior could be considered normal at all.

"Ah, don't worry, I have a thick skull. My mother always says I could bash my skull on solid metal and the metal would yield and beg for mercy." She chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "Although, I have to admit that bridge beam was pretty hard. What are these made of?"

"It's a synthetic material made of a kind of metallic glass. Actually, … it's harder than metal." She admitted thoughtfully.

"Well, that explains it." Was the cheery reply that held not the slightest bit of doubt that she found the one to blame for her aching head.

Methys just smiled politely, unsure what to do with her. She appeared reluctant as if this situation put her entirely out of her game and in a dilemma, she had no clue how to deal with.

Serenity shivered again, curling herself into a ball, tugging her knees towards her chest. "Although I have to admit freezing might be the direr problem, compared to the state of my head."

That made Methys jolt and she jumped quickly to her feet, sparing her a nervous glance.

"Wait here, and don't do… well, don't do anything!" She clarified just to make sure.

With that Methys dashed away right to the spot where her towel and robe lay. She picked both up and returned to Serenity.

"Here, put this on. Your clothes are completely drenched. This is still dry."

"Well, I…" A scarlet hue appeared on her cheeks.

Methys looked at her expectantly. Some awkward seconds passed, in which Serenity still clutched onto the dry clothes, making no effort to change.

Finally, Methys seemed to realize what the problem was. "Oh, ahem … look, there is no one here and I turn around, ok? You can change and nobody will see a thing."

"Pinky promise?" The question sounded way too childish.

Methys looked as if she wasn't entirely sure she heard correctly, before she responded with a bewildered: "Yeah… Pinky promise." Serenity beamed at her and Methys turned around politely, using the opportunity to hide her disbelieving grin. Serenity immediately blushed, when her eyes fell on the vast expanse of Methys' bare and well-sculptured back. She quickly averted her gaze and then there was the rustling of clothes.

The Mercurian waited patiently, folding her hands in front of her chest. Her lips were twitching and she was clearly pondering, how she ended up in this kind of ridiculous situation. "So, ahem forgive me the question, but what were you doing on that bridge to fall off. The handrail is built high enough to prevent such accidents."

"Well, I might have climbed on it." Was the sheepish reply and you could imagine her twiddling with her thumbs in embarrassment upon the admission.

"And why would you…" She did not seem entirely sure how to finish that question without insinuating stupidity or some equivalent insult.

"Well, there were these beautiful blossoms, those iridescent ones…" They could see Methys grimace, sporting an expression that could only mean 'Seriously?'

"Well, I did not climb over the railing for those, but you know, when I looked at them ahem… closely, my shawl came loose due to a gust of wind and it kinda got stuck in one of the tree branches."

"So, you tried to get it back and slipped?" Methys sounded as if she did not consider that much of an improvement compared to her falling off, because she admired some random flowers.

"Yeah, that's kinda what happened." She admitted embarrassed.

Methys sighed, although it was a lenient one. "Maybe, you should have let it be. A shawl is hardly worth your life and, looking at you… I mean, you can probably afford a ton of them. These ponds are dangerous and not made for swimming. Nobody ever goes into the water. These water reservoirs are solely designed for cooling the planetary shield."

The reprimand, although way gentler than they were used from her, sounded a bit weird in their ears, considering she was swimming in those forbidden ponds herself only five minutes ago.

Serenity looked guiltily to the ground upon her scolding words. "Well, yeah, sorry. But… this one isn't just a random shawl. It's special. Well, at least it was." She added sadly, hanging her head even more.

"Was? You lost it?"

"It seems so. I managed to grab it before falling in. I guess the current washed it away." It was the first time she sounded truly upset about something.

Methys appeared to hesitate. "I see… well, sorry to hear that." She finally responded lamely.

Then she added awkwardly. "You know, Mercurian silk is actually rather nice. You probably get a new one at the stores near the city center, if you are interested in local fabrics. They are of good quality and come in all kind of designs. I am sure you will find something you like."

There was a brief silence and you could see Methys worrying, whether she said something inappropriate.

Then. "Getting a new one is not the problem. This one just had… sentimental value. It… it was a birthday gift from my father. He is dead, now."

Methys opened her mouth briefly to respond, but then shut it again, looking to the ground. An uneasy silence filled the air for a moment, before Serenity announced.

"Oh, ahem … you can turn around, now. I am finished… well… sorta… as finished as I can get."

Methys turned around and the somber mood instantly evaporated, when she had just one look at her. In fact, Methys fought the semblance of a smirk appearing on her face. And it was easy to figure out why. Even they had to admit, the Lunarian looked rather ridiculous with her hair wrapped messily in the towel and clasped in the worn robe, hugging herself like a drenched newborn fledgling seeking for warmth from its mother.

"Thanks for the clothes." She smiled gratefully, although her jaw was still shivering. However, she suddenly frowned, when she seemed to realize something, scanning Methys from head to toe. "Wait… these are your clothes and you are completely drenched as well from rescuing me. You should take them back." Apparently, forgetting all about her modesty this time, she was disrobing right in front of her.

Methys blanched and held up her hands to stop her. "Hold on. It's fine. You can keep them. I am not cold."

Serenity's eyes widened in utter disbelief; her hands frozen over the bottoms covering her cleavage. "Not cold?! How can you be not cold?! It's freezing here. I was already cold, before I fell into the water and I wore three layers of clothes. You wear… em … barely one!" She blushed immediately, which made it apparent that she had noticed, how much of Methys' body her clothes were _not _covering.

Methys' corners of her mouth twitched slightly upwards upon her genuine astonishment and the not so subtle barb at her state of dress. "I am used to it. So, don't worry, I am fine."

"But… you shouldn't freeze just because of me." She pouted, still a bit flustered.

"I assure you, I do not." Methys was smiling now probably more because she thought it might help to get her point across and stop her from shedding her clothes right in front of her where every random passerby could see.

"You are not lying, are you?" Serenity responded somewhat suspiciously.

Methys' hand wandered to her chest in fake indignation. "Of course not. Why would I do something like that? In fact, I can even prove it. Just look at me. I am definitely not the one shivering. I don't even have goosebumps. See?" She pointed at the skin of her arm as a proof of principle, sending her a challenging look that dared her to further question her foolproof assessment.

The blonde narrowed her eyes suspiciously and inspected her skin thoroughly. Upon finding not the slightest goose bump, Serenity 's pout grew a notch in the scale of poutiness and she huddled even more into her borrowed garbs. "So not fair…"

Methys grinned upon watching her antics. "Told you. Come on, now. We should get you somewhere warm and dry, before you turn into an icicle. You are here for the conference, aren't you? I can escort you back; at least to the palace gates…I guess from there you will find your way on your own."

"You cannot enter the palace grounds? Is it not open to the public?" Serenity asked curiously.

Methys cringed slightly. "Well, typically not."

"Then, you should come with me. I am sure they will let you in, when I tell them about your heroic deeds. And I want to properly thank you for rescuing me. I mean you saved my life."

Methys good mood dropped immediately, as if that prospect was her worst nightmare combined with a disaster of unknown extent. She quickly schooled her features back to a more neutral expression. Luckily, Serenity did not see her blunder, since she was again admiring the plant life with a rapt expression on her face. Methys tempered her reply, but a significant part of her averseness still leaked through. "That's not such a good idea. I would rather prefer it, if this incident stays between the two of us."

Serenity appeared confused, since she apparently caught those small nuances in her voice. "But you saved my life. You should be rewarded for it. Please. You can dine with us and …"

"No." Methys interrupted her rather briskly, before she added a more placative: "Thank you, but… that is just not … my place." She concluded a tad bit lamely as if she was fishing for an appropriate excuse only to end up with a pretty much lacking justification for her immediate denial.

"But…" Serenity started again a slight whine to her voice.

"Please. I am grateful for your offer, but I have to decline." Serenity looked at her with sadness now, and Methys intuitively avoided her gaze.

"Is this about me being nobility?" She finally asked crestfallen.

Methys pondered about the question for a moment, clearly torn what to respond. Finally, she admitted simply. "Yes."

Serenity winced noticeably and the sadness in her eyes grew even deeper. "Please, that doesn't have to mean anything. I thought maybe we could get to know each other better…"

A forced smile appeared on Methys' face. "You don't want to know me."

"What? I assure you I…" Serenity started to object.

Methys seemed to realize how that sounded and weakened her statement. "Let me rephrase… it's just… we are from different Empires and as soon as this conference is over you will return home. We are literally worlds apart in … more than one aspect. I appreciate your… interest in my person and your … wish to express your gratitude, but this would be not a wise idea. I am sure you are a great person, but…"

"… I am a Lunarian." She concluded dejectedly, her sadness even more prominent, now.

For some reason Methys couldn't stand her looking so miserable. Instead, she was trying to soften the statement as best as she could. "No, that's not… it would be the same were you Jovian or Venusian …em… nobility." She added helplessly, when Serenity appeared even more crestfallen with every word she uttered. Clearly, Methys didn't want to hurt her feelings, but wasn't eager to encourage further contact either.

It wasn't really working and the Mercurian switched to a different approach.

She exhaled shakenly, sending her an apologizing look. "Look, at the end we just met by chance. I am sure you will meet lots of other way more interesting people at the conference to make your stay here worthwhile. People who share … your interests. Your association with me will not be necessary… and you don't need to force yourself to interact with me just to repay some kind of dept. I might have saved your life, but I don't expect anything in return." She hesitated. "… and believe me, there are better and … more appropriate ways to spend your time than with me." She finally added a tad bit awkwardly.

"I beg to differ. You…" She did not get as far as to finish her sentence, when Methys interrupted her, a growing frown on her face.

"Listen, just drop it. Please. I have my own personal obligations and technically I shouldn't even be here talking to you. Let's leave it with you being grateful and going our separate ways, ok? I will escort you back to your quarters, but then I need to leave." She emphasized albeit in a forced neutral tone, although she added an appeasing smile to her words.

Serenity finally sighed in defeat, clearly unhappy and hurt about her apparent refusal. "Ok… then… then can I at least gift you a new coat? I mean this one is pretty worn, and… I can also replace the rest of your outfit. It's ruined, … _now,_ so you could certainly use a new one." It somehow sounded as if she considered it ruined before and they could see Methys' eyebrow twitch slightly upon her even less subtle second barb at her clothes.

"You are for sure stubborn and I repeat: that won't be necessary." She assured her and she appeared more astonished by this whole conversation than displeased.

Serenity's brows furrowed briefly. "It's not about what is necessary. It just feels wrong to just let you go like that. I am responsible for ruining your clothes. The least, I can do is replace them, if you don't allow me to do more."

"No, I like my clothes the way they are, thank you very much." Methys remained stubborn.

However, Serenity still wasn't willing to give in. "Please, there must be something, I can do for you. You can also get money or jewels… whatever you want…" She offered hopefully with her best puppy dog eyes.

"The answer stays the same: no. I assure you; I do not require your charity. I get along on my own just fine."

Serenity stiffened briefly. "I did not intend to imply that you didn't." She waved her hands around in a roundabout gesture of what was supposed to be strong denial. "I just wanna repay you for your kindness. What is so bad about that?" This time the pout was almost heart-wrenching to look at.

Methys sighed in misery. "Can we please drop that subject? For the last time, I don't need any payment for saving you. It wasn't such a big deal and your unyielding stubbornness about it won't change my mind."

"But, you… you are a commoner, are you not?" Serenity appeared unsure, whether it was polite to phrase it like that and maybe she wouldn't even have dared to say it, had Methys not proved to be so relentless in her views.

The Mercurian just blinked. "What?"

Serenity scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I didn't want to be rude, that's why I didn't say anything before, but you refused my offered dinner, because you think nobility and commoners should not mingle, didn't you? And not taking my money is probably an issue of pride, isn't it?"

Methys appeared entirely baffled for a moment, caught in the middle of astonishment, bewilderment and surprise by her boldness.

It only seemed to reassure Serenity that she hit the nail spot on. "You also don't have the braids. I mean… I read that all Mercurians have the braids with those clips in it to show their social standing."

Methys still hadn't entirely recovered from her rather forward statements, but that spark of amusement in her eyes had returned. Apparently, she couldn't really believe where this was going. "That's correct, albeit a bit simplified. During certain types of work, we take them off at least when they might be hindering or when we might lose the clips."

"So, you have been working here?" She asked enthusiastically, apparently overhearing the rest of the information in Methys' response.

"Ahem…." Again, caught off guard the Mercurian was fishing for a response that wasn't an outright lie, when Serenity came up with another completely wrong interpretation of her hesitation. "Oh god, I am keeping you from your work the entire time. That's why you were saying you shouldn't talk with me. I am so sorry. I will just stop babbling and get out of your hair."

Methys appeared genuinely astonished, how someone could draw one entirely wrong conclusion after the other. Still, she didn't correct her and rather kept her little charade up a bit longer, since it apparently played well into her hands. "Well, it's true I don't have much time so I would be grateful, if we could hurry up a bit."

"Of course, sorry." She hastily stumbled up to her feet, straightening her clothes, as if she hoped her ridiculous attire would look more appropriate without wrinkles. Needless to say, she failed utterly in looking more regal and less like a drenched and shaking kitten with fluffed fur.

Methys watched her clearly amused by her feeble tries to fix an outfit that was apparently unfixable.

"So, you are working for the palace?" Serenity tried to get the conversation going again.

"You could say that." Technically, that wasn't a lie, was it? The royal family worked for the palace after all.

Serenity was now standing on the path waiting for her, looking left and right with apparent confusion on her face. "So, you also… ahem, maybe you should lead the way."

Again, Methys' lips curled subtly upon realizing that the blonde had not the slightest clue where she was. "Sure. Just follow me."

They walked in silence for a bit, until Methys started the conversation again.

"If you allow me a question. Since you are an official guest at the conference and clearly of higher social standing: Why have you been wandering around on your own? Where is your retinue? Guards. You know, the ones, who should have gotten you out of the water, had I not been there…"

Serenity scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I kinda slipped out of their grasp."

"Really? That sounds not like something nobility would do. Not that I know, of course..." She added with a wry smile that was not entirely successful in hiding her playful streak.

Serenity, however, remained oblivious to whom she was talking to and just babbled on. "Oh, you would be surprised. Believe me, those meetings can be so boring. Politics here. Economics there. And in between they might even try to spice it up by bragging about their newest financial investments. Hurrayyy." She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I tell you something in secret. They might do all those things to some extent, but it's not why the majority of them are participating. They might like to call it working for the better of the galaxy and forming truces and whatnot. At the end the reason why they all truly gather is to gossip."

This time she couldn't hide her smirk. "So, that's what they are doing all the time? I always suspected..."

"Yes, at least for the balls that's the typical way to pass the time. I mean, what else are you supposed to do but avoiding the notorious ass grabbers while dancing and pillaging whatever food you can grab? At the end you are tired as hell from your whole day being filled to the brim with meetings, guided tours, social gatherings, receptions, and what not and still you are expected to keep up the façade that you are interested in whatever they say. Luckily, most of them like hearing themselves talking the most, so you get away with nodding from time to time, but still… You have to be polite even to the ones who are total jackasses, just to prevent making a scene. That's so tiring. And to make matters worse they always put so much effort into their banquets using fancy names for every dish and then the courses are always so small and basically look like art but taste like dust. I mean how hard can it be to use some spices? They typically even serve a million types of whines and other beverages, but never bother to offer a proper dessert. It's what I am looking forward to the most and it's always so disappointing. I mean, what chefs do neglect dessert and what dumb organizers think it's not worth putting the most thought into? I don't get that. It's probably the same here." She looked curiously at a highly amused Methys. "Wait, do Mercurians even have dessert?"

Methys was a tad bit confused by the question. "Is there a society, which hasn't?"

"I mean good dessert." She specified as if that should have been clear from the beginning. "Isn't the food here very bland?"

Methys snickered. "Oh, we have some specialties. It's no Jovian cuisine, but it's satisfactory."

Serenity looked like a kicked puppy. "That's not very reassuring. The food was the only thing I was looking forward to…. Well, that and the culture…"

"I am sure it will not be that bad. Aren't those meetings held to impress? They will probably serve the finest cuisine there is to offer."

"Yeah, and it's mostly all the same. No one comes up with any new ideas and whatever interesting local cuisine there is, is mostly thrown out of the menu in favor of fancier boring and tasteless stuff, that's basically served by everyone, because it's just trendy right now. I mean I can't tell you how often I already had smoked veal brisket with tree spinach lately and it's truly not all that great, especially after the tenth time." She sighed as if the dilemma weighed her down more than the fact that she nearly drowned.

Methys appeared momentarily distracted by her words, as if she was thinking really hard about something.

"Well, it can't be the same for every meal. What's with breakfast? Lunarians do breakfast, do they?"

"Of course." She smirked proudly. "The breakfast is the largest meal during the day and I truly hope it won't just be snacks. And please there needs to be sweet stuff..."

"Don't worry, we do proper breakfast on Mercury, too."

Serenity just folded her arms a tad bit miffed. "I direly hope so. I need the sugar income to keep up with that over packed curriculum. It starts at 6:30 in the morning, can you believe that? I mean, when am I supposed to sleep? And the breakfast is only scheduled to 10? How am I supposed to survive until then without any food? I mean I know there are nobles, who can last through the whole day with a lettuce leaf. I, on the other hand get truly insufferable, when I am hungry. That way I am going to cause a political disaster for sure."

Methys looked at her as if she would believe that on the spot.

Serenity sighed miserably. "I should have really brought a stock of sweets from home. I mean I would have, but Luna just said, I should stop being ridiculous."

Methys mouth twitched slightly. "There are some food parlors very close to the palace. You can probably get something there."

"Not when I am not supposed to leave the palace grounds." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait… I can send Luna. That's perfect."

"Is she your maid?" Methys asked curiously.

Serenity laughed. "Nah, I wish she was. Then it would be me telling her what to do and not the other way around. Luna is my mentor and cherished advisor, although she always complains babysitter would describe her job more accurately. Seriously, she is typically bossing me around as if she owns the place. The least she can do for talking me out of bringing some supply is making sure I am not starving, although she will probably just argue a diet would do me good. And if mother agrees…" She seemed to ponder the consequences of getting her involved with growing horror in her eyes. "Damn, if I only could go by myself."

"Well, if you plan to sneak out a second time, please do me the favor and stay away from the water currents. It certainly would destroy my hard work, if you manage to stumble into another one."

"Well, I can put that worries to rest. I am typically very creative in causing unfortunate accidents. Falling into the water is now out of the list of what might go wrong for the near future. And… even if I wanted to, leaving the conference venue is going to be difficult. You have not a minute just for yourself just to take a breather in those gatherings and we will be anyway on close watch. My mother will already be very displeased with me about the stunt I pulled just now, so doing it a second time is out of question."

"Well, you don't have to tell her." Methys suggested with a tad bit hope shining through her words that whatever happened here between the two would stay between them.

"Are you serious? Just look at me. Just one glance tells the whole story in every gruesome detail, does it not?"

Methys had to agree to that assessment with a helpless shrug, clearly tempted to retort, but hesitating. "You could try to come up with a cover story…"

Serenity scoffed. "That cover story would be probably even worse than the truth."

Methys' lips twitched again and with the words that followed, they could imagine why. "I highly doubt that." The sarcasm was barely noticeable.

Serenity completely overheard the pointed remark or rather she just interpreted it in her own way. "With all due gratefulness in your trust in my creativity and acting abilities, I don't think that's going to work. Besides… I don't want to lie to my mother. This was my error. Not standing up for it, would be cowardice. So, I guess I have to live through the lecture."

Methys looked at her torn between approval and disappointment.

Serenity just babbled on. "Well, whatever mother has to say, she should have seen it coming. Our retinue has just arrived, but all days we will spend here are already completely planned through. However, the conference only begins in the afternoon, when everyone arrived, so I thought this is the only time I have to stroll a bit. I have never been to Mercury before and I want to see the planet. The capital alone is already smashing. I saw it from the airship and there is so much water and the buildings look as if they are made out of ice. I mean, I know they aren't, but it looks like it. And I also saw the royal palace with its domes, those arches and all the fountains. It's so beautiful." She was so into it that she almost forgot to breathe.

Methys smiled broadly, a genuine smile this time. "I consider Lamanai beautiful, too. Although I lived here all my life, it never lost its magic."

Serenity sighed. "I wish I could see more of the city. You know, the street markets with all the strange food, where every parlor smells differently. I wish I could visit the sights all the other people who come here for a regular visit and all the secret and amazing spots that every city has. The ones with the most beautiful view over the city and the food parlor with best local gastronomic specialties, the place with the best music and the oddities that are unique to every place… I heard you have the biggest library in the whole ten kingdoms. They say the architecture of the building is simply breathtaking with a ceiling that appears to be open to the sky. And all those bridges… is it true that none is the same as another?" With every word her eyes brightened up a bit more and bubbly excitement was oozing out of her every pore.

Her enthusiasm appeared to be contagious, because Methys gladly chose to indulge her further. "Yes, each of them is unique. It's the final exam of every grandmaster of architecture to design a bridge. If that person passes his or her final exam, that bridge is built to honor their skillset and celebrate the successful completion of their degree. A monument if you want, but not for a celebrity, Queen or whatnot, but for the very person who created it. One that persists as a reminder, attesting for every grand masters' achievement even long after they perished."

Serenity hung on her lips. "That's so cool. Do you have a favorite?"

"What?"

"Bridge. A favorite bridge?" She clarified.

"I have favorite architects, but I doubt the names will tell you anything."

"And which bridge do you like best, I mean aside from the person who built it? There must be one you consider exceptionally aesthetic or beautiful or just… awesome." She looked at her expectantly.

Methys appeared to be out of her depth with the question. She needed some time to think, before she responded.

"Well, there is one rather small one in the Laica district. It's something akin to a plank bridge. It's hard to explain, if you haven't seen it. Well, the bridge itself is always different. The planks all have different forms and shapes. They are made of almost see through metal that contains impurities of all kinds, other metals, iridescent substances, even liquid emulsions in different colors. When you encounter the waterway to cross, there is no bridge. You have to push a bottom and an electrical field will build up between two electrodes built on both shores. Due to the electrical current the planks will align, but the surface where you step on is isolated so that you don't get shocked as soon as you step on them. The planks will always align differently since the impurities disturb the electrical field. And to make it even better, you can disturb the field as well, which rearranges the bridge. The impurities will also cause light effects and if you pass the bridge during sunrise or sundown the play of colors will be even more impressing."

"That sounds awesome."

A reminiscent smile appeared on Methys' face. "As a kid I loved this bridge and I always wanted to find out why it worked the way it did. My brothers and I always made a game out of it, weakening the current bit by bit to see, who would fall into the water first. There was a trick behind it of course. You had to be really quick and use the planks as step stones, without ever putting your full weight on them. As the lightest of us, I always tended to win and my brothers always complained about it not being fair."

Serenity listened intently, smiling upon imagining the game. "It sounds like fun. I would so love to see that bridge." There was some longing in her words and Methys gauged her thoughtfully, continuing her tale.

"Unfortunately, the architect who built it died only five years after passing his exam. So, he remains rather fameless. He would have been one of our greatest, had he lived longer."

"That's so sad. Well, at least you will always remember him."

"I guess, I will."

The Lunarian quickly found back her lively self. "By the way, who designed the bridge I fell off?" She asked curiously.

"His name was Leeran Cader."

"Woah, you really know his name as well? I mean there must be hundreds of bridges. You can't know all of the names, can you?" She appeared scandalized.

Methys bore an indulgent smile. "897 in Lamanai alone. And no, even I don't know all of the architect names, but Leeran Cader happens to be the same architect that designed the library you mentioned earlier. He grew to be one of the most influential architects Mercury has ever seen."

"So,… I at least fell from a famous bridge." Serenity added proudly.

Methys huffed. "That you did."

"Still, famous or not, the handrails are too low."

"Not, when you don't climb on them." Methys commented with a raised eyebrow.

"For Mercurians maybe." Serenity pouted.

"Did you just call us short?"

"Well, you are, not that short is bad or something." She backpedaled. "I am sure it has its advantages." Her tone clearly implemented that she couldn't think of any at the moment.

"I am not short."

"You are shorter than me."

"You wear heels. And you climbed with them on the railing. That alone explains why you fell off, clumsy or not."

"Woah, I can use that. It sounds plausible enough for my mother. Besides, I really needed to see those flower trees up close. It's not my fault they are so pretty."

"Those trees are called Banyanus thermoarpophorus and they not just here to be pretty."

"Ban.. what?!"

"It's the scientific name. They are colloquially called Root trees. They are a special genetically altered breed, generated by our scientists to absorb heat for growth. I told you these waterways are not for swimming and you already noticed how cold the water is. Well, these ponds are cooling waters for the planetary shield that protects us from the sun. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and without protection we would be burned off the planet surface in an instant. That's why we need the shield. Part of the solar energy is absorbed by it to fuel our society's energy needs. The most part, however is reflected into space again. To cool the shields, we transport water up the gravity beams you see everywhere, that water gets heated during day and is transferred down again. Here the trees are planted around the ponds and almost everywhere on Mercury. Instead of photosynthesis they use the thermal energy of the water and to a lesser extent out of the air, the water itself and carbon dioxide to produce carbon-based biomass. Most of our crop production works the same way and all the greenery here somehow contributes to this cycle. Although, greenery is probably the wrong term. Those plants do not have chlorophyll, the green pigment, which is essential for normal photosynthesis out of sunlight. Without chlorophyll other plant pigments will be visible in the leaves, which then appear red, yellow or even brownish. It's the same that happens to Earthen plants in fall, shortly before they shed their leaves."

Serenity cocked her head to the side pensively. "That explains a lot. I never understood how Mercury as the planet being closest to the sun can be attributed with coldness."

"Yes, that's an oxymoron, isn't it? Well, on second thought, it actually isn't. The thing is our planet is not always hot. Only when the sun reaches us during the day. During the night the temperatures would drop to 173°C below zero. The shield is required to sustain a breathable atmosphere and to balance those extreme temperature deviations. As a result, we have a stable summer temperature of 12°C and a winter temperature of -1°C with the water corpses being warmest in the evening and coldest in the morning."

Serenity's face fell. "Please tell me it's at least summer."

"You are lucky. It is. Thirteen days ago, we have been closest to the sun."

"So, this is the warmest it will get? Ever?!"

"Exactly. With the adjustments we made, the planetary shield works most effectively. Hence, these are the temperatures we have grown used to living with. Well, I told you I am used to the cold."

"Oh, that reminds me… I have read you have polar lights, don't you? During the solstice they are the most beautiful, are they not?"

"Yes, during the solstice you can see them in the city, but that was thirteen days ago, already. If you want to see them now, you have to be higher up."

"Oh, damn, why do I always get the worst timing? I can't see the city and now not even the polar lights."

A thoughtful expression had appeared on Methys' face. "Can't it be arranged… visiting the city, I mean. If a high-ranking noble wishes to see all those things, you mentioned, won't they make it possible?"

"No, something like that is not part of the regular program. It never is and it would be insolent to ask for it. My mother says we have to be careful and keep a low profile, so voicing such requests is out of question."

She sighed miserably. "Actually, she didn't want to take me here in the first place. She told me to stay around our lodging at all times. I mean for me it is the first time to participate in any of these super official grand meetings and I think she fears; I might cause a political disaster of sorts by saying the wrong thing to the wrong person." She snorted and Methys' lips twitched in hidden amusement, since most things she said, could be probably considered scandal-worthy in their own right, and she was definitely the wrong audience.

Serenity just blabbered on. "… As if I would walk straight up to the Mercurian royals and tell them their conference program is designed like a slave labor campaign. Come on, not even I would do something that blasphemous." Methys' eyebrows twitched, not that Serenity could see, however, you could see that she truly had to pull herself together to not start laughing out loud. In fact, she looked as if she was thinking something along the line of 'This keeps getting better and better.'

Serenity meanwhile rambled on, as if she was talking to her therapist. "She told me often enough to stay by her side and tread carefully especially around our hosts. I would never say anything disrespectful towards them. I am not blind. I mean we have been allies once, but now…" She trailed off, shrugging helplessly.

The smile vanished from Methys' face almost instantly and a troubled frown replaced it, as if she was reminded of something she had almost forgotten during the course of their encounter. However, she chose to stay silent, still walking ahead of her, so Serenity did not see her change of expression.

Serenity continued in a sad tone. "I honestly don't know how it could deteriorate that far, but I hope this conference will help to better our relations again."

A small scoff left Methys' mouth, but there was considerable doubt in her eyes, as if she knew she listened to the wishful thinking of someone, who had not truly experienced the real game of politics. Still, she responded diplomatically. "That's what everyone is hoping, your people as much as mine. No one wants a war."

"Yeah, the last one was terrible enough. I might have been only a small kid back then, but I know we suffered heavy casualties. My mother is always so sad, when she is forced to talk about it. She says 'You can no more win a war than you can win an Earthquake.' If whatever we can do here, can prevent an outcome like that, then I will contribute whatever is necessary. At the end that's what we are here for. I might wish about seeing the city or tasting exotic desserts, but… these are just personal whims. They can't be important, when this is about so much more. So, I will do as mother says. She is always so tense during those occasions. And I don't want to make this even more difficult for her. It's no secret that the relations between … some of the Empires have turned quite frosty and the slightest mistake can cause in the worst case a full-out war. She knows what is on the line and she knows the throes of politics. I think she is just worried and wants to keep me out of it."

Methys stoically walked ahead, but her shoulders had tensed up considerably, a dark frown on her face. Her response, however betrayed little of those bodily signs of unease. "A noble cause but most often not easily obtained. Unfortunately, politics tend to play a role wherever you go, even when you expect it least. And for people in your position, there most probably is no way to circumvent frequent confrontations with the vexed topic."

"Yeah, even now we are talking about it. I am sorry, if I am boring you with my petty laments." She scratched her head sheepishly.

Methys smiled a croaked smile. "Not at all. I value seeing things from a different perspective. And I don't exactly approve of everything our authorities decide in some regards either. However, sometimes, it's just the way things are. It's not as if I can do much about it." The last part sounded a tad bit frustrated.

"Yeah, I know. It's not as if you are royalty." Methys almost seemed to miss a step in her stride. "If someone is able to bring some change it would be the royal dynasties and not the common folk. They are only the ones who suffer from it."

Methys' jaw had grown tense again and this time Serenity seemed to notice.

"Don't get me wrong, nothing of this is your fault. I mean, how could you make a difference? That is not your duty. It's theirs. That's why they are the leaders. At the end, I just don't understand why it's so difficult to get along. I mean we are all just people. We share the same fears and hopes, the same dreams and goals. We all want to protect our beloved ones. Cultures and home worlds aside we are all the same and we can learn to understand each other, if we just put some effort into it. I mean, look at us! We just met, we were just strangers and we have already found things to talk about. If we can already form some sort of bond and a sense of understanding in such a short amount of time, then why is it so difficult between the Empires?"

"Empires just try to best each other with little regard to the people. They rather lose themselves in politics." Methys noted absent-mindedly as if talking to herself.

"Politics are meant to prevent wars and dissolve the tensions."

"Most times they rather cause them."

"Only if that's the aim of the politicians to begin with."

Methys cocked her head in consideration. "True enough."

"But that's not right. Those in power are supposed to serve the people not themselves. They are the ones who cling to their grudges and keep the animosities alive. They are the ones who chose to play petty political games instead of doing their duty. Still, they do not learn from the mistakes of the past and just repeat them over and over."

"I am afraid it's not that simple." Methys responded a tad bit frostily.

"Isn't it? Empires are led by people and people have a free will. They have the power to make a choice. They can listen, they can sympathize and they can work for the benefit of all. And most of all they can decide against bloodshed, against war and still they most often … do not."

"And they typically have reasons for their decisions. People are easily influenced by a plethora of things. Out of those they will always choose those that mean the most to them, not those that should have priority as a basis to act on. That's the weakness of all living beings and why we are able to gloss over even the worst atrocities as just means to protect what is most important to us." She made a small pause. "Perspectives change… they are never the same… not even for the same person."

"Yes, that's what they are supposed to do. Otherwise we would never learn to better ourselves."

"Most often it works in the opposite direction."

"No, it doesn't just happen to a person. That person _lets _it happen, no matter what direction. You always have a choice to fight for bettering yourself or to accept becoming a worse person."

"That presumes that that person still knows the difference. That the person even cares to begin with. Quite often they do not in both cases."

"Then you need someone to tell you. Someone you care for." There was a passion in her words that seemed to impress Methys.

A lenient half-smile appeared on her face. "You make it sound so simple. You presume people want to better themselves, but people don't want to change. Change is risky. Change requires courage and you never know what that change will bring for you. Change is just the last option that is considered when everything else fails. When it can't get any worse."

Serenity looked to the side, more serious than ever. "Are we not already at this point."

Methys' tone turned solemn. "No. Not quite yet."

"Change is inevitable. It's ambivalent. It's what we make out of it."

"Exactly. And there will always be people who find a certain kind of change not to their liking. You have to understand, in their eyes a system that barely works, is better than risking to have no system at all or worse one they cannot control. There is too much political and historical baggage between the nations, which had decades to build up and fester. Enforcing the change, you want would be equivalent with bashing your head through a wall and expecting it to break earlier than you do."

"Well, I am pretty good at that."

Methys just blinked at her entirely gob smacked. Then she laughed out loud. It was a hearty laugh, genuine and… unexpected.

Serenity reciprocated with a radiant beam of a smile. "It's really nice talking to you. You are a very good listener and... and you are not at all what they say about Mercurians…" She mused, realizing too late how that must sound, her eyes widening in fright.

Methys raised a challenging eyebrow. "Oh, what is it they say?"

Serenity blushed. "Nothing. Sorry, for mentioning it."

Methys offered her an encouraging grin. "Come on. Now, you made me curious."

"No, I won't tell. That would be entirely rude. And I already told you, you don't fit that description."

"You know, you already revealed half of it in admitting it would be rude to tell. And how do you wanna know I am not the same of what you have heard? You only talked to me for five minutes. I could be the worst asshole around here."

"You saved a Lunarian from drowning, endangering your own life in doing so. If you fit in the typical description of a Mercurian I have heard, you definitely would have let me drown."

Methys grimaced, muttering. "That's quite the reputation, isn't it? I wish I could tell you; it isn't accurate."

"It's…" Serenity lowered her head. "I don't want to insult your people. I just know, we are not welcome here. Not anymore."

Methys gauged her seriously. "If you know, then why do you even talk to me? I am still one of them as you pointed out so accurately after I pulled you out of the water."

Serenity shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I just wanted to ... try. I consider all people friends; I haven't met yet, at least until they give me reason to think otherwise. You have been nothing but friendly to me, although I have given you nothing but trouble in return so far."

The corner of Methys' mouth twitched. "Oh, believe me; you have provided far more than trouble."

"That's …good, I think? I just… well I haven't even said it so far, have I? Thank you for saving my life." She half-bowed in front of her.

Methys dipped her head in a revering gesture. "You are welcome."

There was some more silence between them and Serenity's gaze strayed again to taking in the landscape, while Methys led the way.

From time to time Serenity glanced briefly at her, almost nervously. Then she staggered out a question her hands wrung nervously. "You know who I am, don't you?" Her voice was tentative and shy as if she wasn't sure whether she had committed a huge mistake in asking that question.

Methys stiffened briefly, then she sighed. "Yes… I know. You are Princess Serenity of the Lunarian Empire. The rightful heir of the Crown and future Senshi of the Silver Crystal."

"I wasn't sure, whether you…" She trailed of sheepishly.

"You might want to consider changing your hairstyle, if you want to stay incognito... well, and the color…" Methys suggested dryly.

Serenity blinked. Then she replied slyly. "I consider it … for the next time."

"Well, and you should also not give away that much while talking. Even without the hair it wouldn't have been a difficult guess."

"I … wasn't trying to hide, who I am? Would you have preferred, if I had done so?" She asked genuinely interested in her response, but also a tad bit apprehensive.

Methys huffed gently. "No, I guess not."

Serenity gauged her thoroughly from the side, before she visibly steeled herself. "Listen, you will probably decline this one the same as you did my other offers, but I am going to make the request anyway… should you ever come to the Lunarian Empire, would you contact me then?"

"Why?"

"I would like to show you some sights…"

Methys raised a disbelieving brow. "You don't even know, whether I am the type for sightseeing…"

"You are a Mercurian. There is nothing your folks are not interested in. At least that part of your reputation appears to be true for you as well."

"Well, I can't really deny that."

"So, is that a yes?" She asked hopefully.

"I make no promises."

"You did make a pinky promise, before." Serenity pointed out, adorning a small pout.

"Well, yes, I was kind of taken by surprise … this will be not one, although… I will consider it should I ever step on the Moon, which is… not very likely, I have to admit."

Serenity sighed in half-annoyed resignation. "You are truly a hard nut to crack."

"Says the one with the hardest skull, I have ever encountered."

"Well, I have the feeling the wall I am bashing my head on right now, is showing some slight cracks. Maybe with a bit more effort…"

"I am afraid I have to inform you, that your time is up to indulge into more efforts. We have reached our destination." Methys pointed forward at some elaborately designed gates.

"Oh." Serenity sounded disappointed and her pace got slower as if she wanted to stall for some more time. With a shy side-glance, she finally dared to ask. "You sure, you don't want…"

Methys showed an indulgent smile. "The answer stays the same no matter how many times you bring it up. Your quarters are right across the courtyard and I guess the fretting lady in front of it, is looking for you."

"Oh shit. That's Luna. Oh no, and now she has seen us." Subconsciously, she made a step backwards, almost as if she wanted to hide behind the Mercurian.

Methys eyed the Lunarian advisor suspiciously. "Well, I guess that's the signal to take my leave." She had already turned around as soon as she noticed the approaching woman. Clearly, she wanted to avoid a direct meeting, because her speech got hastier. "I wish you a successful conference. Oh… and try the Nachas." She winked already retreating back the path they came.

"Wait, I didn't even ask for your name!" Serenity tried to follow her, when Luna's reprimanding voice reached her ears, distracting her momentarily. The woman with purple hair reached her, halting with her hands on her hips right in front of her, so that she had no choice but to focus on her.

"Where have you been? And what happened to you?" Serenity tried to reassure her that she was fine. The moment she managed to get away from her overbearing advisor for the split of a second, she looked around frantically, only to discover that her Mercurian savior was gone.

A notion of utter disappointment appeared on her face. She appeared to be not listening to Luna's ranting at all and only followed her reluctantly back to her quarters, throwing searching looks over her shoulder all the time.

Unbeknownst to her, Methys was still watching her, hidden in a copse of some air root trees. Mumbling to herself in a mixture of worry, resignation and irony, she waited until the blonde woman vanished inside the building. "Don't worry. You will get to know my name soon enough… and I doubt you want to show me any Lunarian sights then." She sighed.

* * *

_AN: Well, it's quite dialog heavy, but yeah, I have to explain some things. I am looking forward to your thoughts. On a side note, to make it easier for you, all of our Senshi will have similar names in the past (with the exception of Serenity), but not the same since that is just not doable with the setting, at least not without causing utter confusion. So, the ones I mentioned already in Dreamers Awake are Michiko (Michiru), Minarin (Minako), Haru (Haruka), Reina (Rei) and Setsna (Setsuna). The rest will be revealed soon. As you might already guess, the fateful meeting here will have consequences. Next chapter will shed more light on what is actually going on. Thanks for reading and commenting..._


	3. A Troublesome Day

_AN: The next chaper is finally online. We continue where we left right after Methys escorted Serenity back to her quarters…_

* * *

_Previously:_

_Serenity appeared to be not listening to Luna's ranting at all and only followed her reluctantly back to her quarters, throwing searching looks over her shoulder all the time._

_Unbeknownst to her, Methys was still watching her, hidden in a copse of some air root trees. Mumbling to herself in a mixture of worry, resignation and irony, she waited until the blonde woman vanished inside the building. "Don't worry. You will get to know my name soon enough… and I doubt you want to show me any Lunarian sights then." She sighed._

* * *

Suddenly, her wristwatch started beeping.

"Oh shit. Natai will skin me alive."

She opened the channel. "You know, I could have sworn you said you would be back asap… Did you take the scenic route to make Krana extra mad? You know, I have to listen to her ranting…" His voice sounded a tad bit unnerved.

"Sorry, Nat. I am on my way, I promise. There was some unexpected incident." She apologized right away, hurrying out of the greenery and taking on the path at rapid speed.

"You know, sometimes being your brother is really a pain in the ass. Hurry, and this time for real, ok?" He complained leniently.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"Yeah… whatever. I don't care whether you encounter a horde of fans pestering you for your autograph or five cats stuck in a tree waiting to be saved. I expect you to cold-shoulder everything and everyone. Got it?"

"As if I would ever let you down for a horde of fans… not that I have any fans…" She retorted confused.

"Oh, I don't know. You should at some point eavesdrop on the aides and waiters. I assure you I really showed enormous restraint in not beating them up straight away."

"Good to know. Anyone good-looking and worth my time?"

He scoffed. "Oh, please. Just imagine mother's face, if you date a waiter."

"That's why I am asking. Maybe, she would finally exclude me from being in line to the throne." She responded cheekily.

"Wishful thinking, Methys… that accounts for wishful thinking."

Methys sighed. "Unfortunately, true."

"How is it going with the Jovians?"

"As you know I am not responsible for them, but so far there were to my knowledge no incidents. Although Atget would probably also remain professional, if they started to tear apart the palace."

"Wait? No complaints about the accommodation, the curriculum, the weather or about the flights? Not even about the welcome drinks? That would be a first." Methys joked.

A static groan was audible. "Still about to happen. The Venusians are next in line at least as per schedule. And you know how they are. Couldn't you have chosen some other party to be responsible for? I mean you are the chief organizer… Now, I have to deal with them in your stead." He lamented.

Methys shrugged. "You said you wanted the beauties. Not my fault if you neglected to consider the attitude. Besides you got the Neptunian delegation. So, don't complain."

"Oh, come on, they were a given. You would never pass on the opportunity to be their personal guide, not that they need one. Michiko already asked for you, as did Uncle Altan and Aunt Galatea."

A fond smile appeared on her face. "I'll great them as soon as possible. Tell them I can't wait to see them. If Michiko is bored, she can already have a look at the shawls and tunics she wanted. They are in my quarters along with the color powders she was so eager to get."

"I'll tell her. She brought sugar algae and Atlesian shrimps and a Deepwater Pearl you apparently explicitly asked her for."

"Really, that's great. Last time we talked, she wasn't sure, whether it would not be too early for the shrimps season wise. And… you can have my share of the sugar algae."

"What?! Why? I know you love them as much as I do."

Methys shrugged not that he could see it. "My compensation for saddling you with my workload."

There was a brief silence. "You do know I complain just for show, don't you?"

"Doesn't matter. I want you…"

"Stop fussing about it. It's not as if you are slacking. You are up since 4:30 am and brooded over the organization of this whole spectacle until past midnight yesterday. You have a good reason why you are not here shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries and whatnot. Just consider this my part in supporting you."

"What did I do to get a brother like you?"

"Yeah, I know. Good looking, hardworking, intelligent and eloquent... You are really lucky. I could be a useless and ugly klutz."

Methys rolled her eyes. "Don't forget modest."

"Yeah, that's a given anyway. You see this time the ladies will line up to dance with me."

"You wouldn't even know what to do with them." Methys jested with a laugh.

There was a small pause before he asked suggestively. "Dancing or otherwise?"

"I meant otherwise, you dummy, not that there should be an 'otherwise' I want to know about."

"Well, for the first time there actually _could be_ an 'otherwise'." He pointed out dubiously.

"Well, in that case, I will cover for you if she is worth it, although I doubt it will be necessary. I have seen you flirting. Calling that a train wreck would be flattering." She jabbed.

"Hey, I just need a bit more practice. I'll use you and Michiko for starters."

"Oh, she will be thrilled."

"I already told her. In fact, she already laughed her ass of listening to some of my romantic advances."

"You do realize that's not a compliment to your skills." She deadpanned.

"Argh, just shut up. It's not as if you would be the master flirt."

"Well, apparently I am at least popular with the aides and the waiters."

"Yeah, and with that pompous assgrabber… what was his name?... Hessington… Harlington?"

Methys sighed miserably. "Hemington. And I crossed him out from the guest list… _very _early on."

There was a snicker on the other side. "Oh really? What a pity. That guy was hilarious."

Methys made a face. "Yeah, _you_ didn't have to dance with him through three pieces. Very long and slow pieces in fact."

"You looked ready to decapitate the idiot on the spot. We already took bets, when you would hit him in his crown jewels." Natai quipped.

"Yeah, because the both of you took your sweet time to come to my rescue." Methys complained.

"Oh, come on, it was the most entertaining thing that happened this whole evening. Of course, we wanted to savor it."

"Glad, at least some of us were entertained." Methys grumbled.

You could hear the grin out of his voice. "Thoroughly entertained. The best part was when mother noticed him doing the same to Lady Iela. One look was all it took and that coward fled the scene." He laughed out loud at the other end.

Methys just grunted.

"I would have so loved him to try his luck with Sanai. She would have reduced him to minced meat."

Methys face darkened. "Sanai wasn't even at court back then." She responded sourly.

Natai seemed to sense her change of mood. "Yeah, sorry you are right. Not the best topic, is it?" He responded sheepishly.

She scoffed. "No, not really. Listen, we can talk more later. I have to hurry now." Her tone sounded slightly detached, the relaxed and goofy mood they had before, gone.

"Yeah, of course." His response was a bit dampened, as if he knew that her ending their conversation was due to his last comment. It was obvious that he regretted letting it slip. He sighed. "See you soon."

Methys closed the connection and continued on her path. By now, she had left the ponds and lakes behind and followed a path flanked by more of the strange trees. On her right side there was a wall.

At some point she stopped in her track right next to a huge tree with crimson leaves, which resembled a plane tree with its two-colored bark. She looked left and right before she left the path. When she was sure no one was around, she climbed the tree, her movements swift and precise as if she could do it in her sleep. Reaching a height similar to the top of the wall she used one branch to reach the other side only to climb down nimbly. With a last jump she graciously touched the soil, which they could only assume was inside the palace grounds. When she straightened up, she was greeted by the baritone of a man waiting for her.

"You know… typically the unruly princesses break out of the royal palace not _into_ it."

Methys jumped not expecting his presence. Whirling around, she relaxed, when she apparently recognized him. "Ithoran!"

The name stirred something in their memories. Ithoran. That was the name Methys had called Inspector Chen Hattorima in their own time frame. So, this was his Silver Millennium pendant. They had to admit they looked similar at least if you focused on the facial features. This man was younger, albeit still in his mid to late thirties. He had folded his arms in front of his chest. The formal looking robe in silver and aquamarine colors gave him a noble aura. His long dark-blue hair was held in a complicated up do, braided along his skull and held up in the back by a top knot. Only at his left temple he had two single thin braids that were adorned with plenty color marked silver beads. He had a similar wristband to the one Methys had and metal studded boots were visible beneath the hem of the long overcoat that split at his sides.

He waited for her to approach him, a tad bit of impatience showing in his posture.

"That's it? You have nothing more to say than my name?"

"Well, I kinda did break out of the palace beforehand, so I did fit the criteria for a proper princess, didn't I?" She showed a croaked smile.

Ithoran groaned. "That's definitely not what I meant. Do you know how long I have been waiting for you? Natai said, you would show up here. I probably should have asked for more specification as to _when_." He responded sourly.

"He didn't say anything about that and … I was delayed."

"Oh, that much I noticed."

"You shouldn't have waited for me…. In fact, you shouldn't even have known I was away." She added a tad bit confused.

He raised a brow. "Well, in that case you should have been back half an hour ago already. Then Natai wouldn't have been forced to improvise using you being with me discussing the last details for the conference as excuse for your absence. That wouldn't be believable, if I was seen walking around on the palace grounds on my own, would it? Ergo, I chose to waste my time here, eagerly awaiting your return to escort you back to your appointment with Krana."

Methys inhaled sharply to retort, before she almost seemed to deflate. "Sorry." She admitted ruefully.

Ithoran's stance softened a bit, but he didn't bite back reprimanding her. "If you ask someone to cover for you than at least stick to the plan and don't let others take the fall for you. I thought I at least taught you that common curtesy."

Methys grimaced, but hung her head. "You did. I didn't want to cause you any hassle."

"Don't apologize to me but to Natai. He would never tell you right to your face, because he is your brother and he loves you a great deal, but he had to come up with excuses for you all morning."

"I know. I already told him I would make it up to him. And to you as well. Thank you for not ratting me out."

Ithoran sighed deeply. "I know you don't have it easy right now, therefore I chose to cover for you as well, but as soon as the trial is over these little escapades will cease. You are the crown princess and not a common thief, who has to break into her own palace. The reception starts in three hours and looking at you Krana has a piece of work ahead of her." He just shook his head in resignation.

Methys made a face that told them she considered the scolding unjust. "You know that I don't sneak out because I want to. I need to train. The next trial is in four days right in the middle of this illustrious gathering. I don't have time for this conference and even less for taking the full brunt of organizing it."

Ithoran's brows furrowed. "I know that and I tried to change Queen Anairin's mind and convince her to let someone else oversee the organization. However, she persisted you could use the experience."

Methys responded sourly. "To hell with that subterfuge. You know very well, why mother chose me for that particular task. The opportunity was just too convenient to let it pass."

"I do know her opinion on the matter, yes." He responded stiffly.

Methys' snort sounded displeased. "That doesn't mean she has to sabotage me. The others have time to prepare, to train. It's just not fair that she is loading work onto me until I can barely breathe to keep me from practicing for the 4th trial. If I fail here, it will be the end, and she knows it. That's why she is doing it, not because I am required as chief organizer, but because this is her only way to throw me out of the competition."

Ithoran sighed. "Methys, complaining about it won't change a thing. I don't consider it fair either, that's why I am helping you. All aspirants should have the same chance and you won't have that, when the opportunity to train is taken from you. The amount of effort you already put into the trials tells me you are dead serious with it and I know when you have set your mind onto something, you will pull through with it, no matter what your mother or anyone else says."

Methys huffed in a way that sounded utterly frustrated and to a lesser part even worried. "I might want to, but the times for taking the trials on the light shoulder are over. Out of more than 60 aspirants there are only seven left and they are good. Sanai is only two points behind me. I don't have time for shaking the hands of pompous delegates and listening to their petty complaints about the color of the tablecloths all day long. If I want to succeed Atget in being the Mercurian Senshi, now is the worst time to slacken in my efforts."

"You already passed three trials and the fourth is not designed to reduce the number of aspirants further. You will master this one as well. I am sure of it. And don't worry too much about Sanai. She might be good, but you are better. I have trained you for the past twelve years. I should know. I have faith in you, Methys."

There was a small pause.

"I… Thank you." She added a respectful half bow. "I appreciate your support, Grandmaster."

He grumbled some incoherent words apparently not liking her reverent gesture. "Come on, now. We don't have all day. In fact, Krana is already expecting you at your quarters."

"I at least have time for a shower, haven't I?" She asked somewhat shell-shocked.

Ithoran raised a derisive brow. "Depends whether you wanna turn smelling like a fish market with frog spawn in your hair into a new fashion trend. The Venusians might buy it." He responded dryly.

A small smile tore at Methys' lips. "Good grief, at least I have not given them to you for guiding."

"I had them last time and believe me they left a lasting impression. I don't need to repeat that experience."

"Then I might owe Natai another one."

"Might serve him a lesson not to pine for the prettiest ones."

Methys raised a brow. "He is 15. What do you expect?"

"After having to babysit you in that age, I expect not much. It can only get better." He jested good-heartedly.

"Hey, I did not pine after any boys."

"No, they made a wide berth around you, because you challenged every single one for a duel when you were barely ten."

"I had to test my skills." Methys defended herself.

"You had your brother for that. You frightened the shit out of those snotty court boys, who might have read all about how to handle a sword in a theoretical handbook, but forgot that the pointy end can actually hurt even if it wasn't a real blade."

"Some of them weren't too bad."

"In what? You used wooden sticks _and_ made all kind of fighting noises for the effect." He retorted dryly.

"I was ten! And you didn't allow me to use real swords for training."

"And that's probably the only reason why everyone involved still has all of their limbs." He deadpanned.

Methys pouted. "Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad, even at the age of ten."

"No, you weren't. Unfortunately, you also wanted everyone to know. A cocky pipsqueak, if I have ever seen one. I still remember you challenging one of the Glacials, and finally the roles were reversed and the snotty overconfident princess got her ass handed to her. You stood no chance against him and he took it more than easy on you."

"No, not at the beginning and not even at the age of 15. However, I always dreamt about being as good as them. Thanks to your tutelage I am now on par with most of them, though."

Ithoran gauged her thoroughly before adding. "You are more than that. You qualified for the position of Senshi and are now one of the seven remaining aspirants applying for the title of the best fighter this planet has to offer. Show some pride in achieving that already, Methys. It's not always only the first place that counts. You should know that."

Her expression darkened. "In this case it is."

"If that's what you got out of my teachings, then I must have done something severely wrong."

"Listen, I get your point and I understand your reasoning. Becoming proficient in something is always a journey and it's the path that matters, the things you learn about yourself on the way and the people who accompany your growth and setbacks. It's coming to the conclusion that you will never finish learning and that there will always be someone with another lesson for you. Et cetera… et cetera. I have not forgotten those credos and I value their wisdom. However,… in this particular case the end matters more than anything."

"You pressure yourself too much. Being Senshi is more than just raw skills and skills alone also not define who you are."

Methys scoffed weakly. "I am the Crown Princess, Ithoran, the first royal who has ever taken part in the competition for the Senshi title in … forever. You know what they say about us. I am… I am expected to come out on top and win this. The people in the streets are already celebrating me as if I already have, although I am only first in the ranking for now with barely a lead. If I win this, it won't be much of an achievement. The people will just say it was bound to happen anyway and no one will value the effort, I put into it. I am considered to be a genius after all. Everything should come easily to me. We are always expected to succeed in whatever we do and when we do it's certainly not our hard work that is appreciated, but just our talent that is scorned or envied. I have learned to live with that. I have come to accept that most people don't see that talent alone gets you nowhere. However,… if I lose, then the scandal is preprogrammed."

"Are you afraid of the uproar it might cause or about the concept of facing someone better."

"I am not used to losing and so is no one else. I would prefer not to start now." She admitted morosely.

"Losing isn't necessarily something bad. Your losses can teach you way more than your wins ever could. And you lost against your brother plenty of times. He has always been on par with you."

"He is not competing and with the both of us it is always playful banter. It's games to pass the time or bets at best. Just harmless fun between us with no hard feelings and nothing on the line. But now, the whole planet is watching me and they expect their expectations to be fulfilled."

"I wasn't aware you are the type for stage fright."

Methys' gaze darted to the floor and she had started fidgeting. "I wasn't, either. It's just … I am not so sure anymore, whether I can do this. Whether I truly meet all the requirements to succeed. At the same time, I know I have to. This is a once in your lifetime opportunity. I can't wait until I feel entirely ready. Atget is retiring and the next Senshi will embody that function for millennia to come. If I screw up now, then that's it and given the closeness to the royal family, whoever will get that title in my stead will be around me my entire life… It would be a failure; I would have to face on a daily basis." She admitted hesitantly.

Ithoran's brows furrowed thoughtfully. "You think it's going to be Sanai. You think she would bask in her win, rubbing it in constantly."

Methys snorted. "Have you watched her? Of course she would. If it's going to be her and I am going to be Queen I am not sure, we could ever work together like we should. She hates me and she makes no secret of it."

"Well, to be honest, the other way around isn't much better. You can't put it all on her."

"I do not hate her… but the way it's going, she might make me." She admitted dejectedly.

Ithoran just shook his head. "You both started a rivalry that got slightly out of hand. It's unbecoming of you to act that way."

Methys appeared to shrink a bit upon his criticism. "I know. It was a mistake. I… may have misjudged the situation, when all of this started. I thought some kind of friendly competition would benefit the both of us. At the beginning, I was sort of in awe of her skills, especially coming from someone that's not even nobility and with not as much training as I had. She caught my interest… and I thought we could both learn from each other, just like you taught me. However, things came to pass differently as soon as I realized that she was not interested in any of that. The further we came throughout the competition the more we were handled as the favorites. And her dislike for me evolved into sheer spite with every passed trial. I tried to ignore it, but that appears to make it even worse. Now, it… frightens me. The way she acts… it makes me doubt myself. And… I have seen her fight. She can defeat me. All it takes is one slight mistake on my part. And I don't know what will happen, if she does. If anything, it would prove mother and all those traditionalists right."

"I am afraid you are losing your focus with the way things are. Concentrate on your goal and not on her or the surrounding circumstances. She does not matter in what you are trying to achieve. Ascending to be Senshi is a spiritual journey that happens inside you. It's not supposed to be a spectacle orchestrated as a media battle for popularity nor a catfight between rivals. In the end the talisman is the final judge and whatever points you scored beforehand will be irrelevant. The talisman decides for what is _inside_ you so you should rather concentrate on honing and sharpening those inner qualities."

"If it was that easy… people are watching me and they expect to see me winning. However, her blatant disregard of me has earned her recognition and support in the circle of people, who stick to the tradition that royalty shouldn't participate in the competition. People who are of the same opinion as mother is. A Queen by blood with a Senshi chosen by the talisman by her side. That's how it always was and that's all those traditionalists are going to accept."

Ithoran made a face. "You knew from the beginning; you would step on toes with your participation. It's not because people dislike you, quite the opposite. You are Queen Anairin's only daughter. You were always destined to be the future Queen and plenty of people wanted to see you on that throne. They see the same potential in you that I see. However, if you become the Senshi that rules out your ascension. You can't have both positions. That has been defined by law long ago and your people are affronted that you apparently refuse to be their future Queen."

"I don't want to be Queen."

"That much I know and it's that fact in particular that worries me. Ask yourself, whether you are doing this solely to escape the throne or whether being Senshi is truly what you want."

"I thought about it. Thoroughly. This was not decided on a whim."

"It better not. You need to be entirely sure, Methys. This is no inane tournament about prestige, approval or fame. You won't win a trophy here, that you can put in a glass vitrine and forget about it as soon as you lose interest. Nor is it a decision you can simply revoke. Being Senshi is a revered duty and an exceptional honor to whoever is chosen. It's an obligation that will define the rest of your life. And it will seal the end of your ascension on the throne for good with no way back. Selfish reasons and petty motivations have no place in this. You have to be entirely sure about it." He emphasized worriedly.

"I know. I know what I am signing up for. But how am I supposed to deal with Sanai? I tried to be civil. She is keeping it alive and to be honest it's starting to piss me off."

He shrugged. "Well, people like to watch a good show. What is more suspenseful than a face-off between sworn rivals especially if their upbringing is as different as yours is? She is probably counting on it to win her share of support by the people. And it works… You have to see the differences between you two: While the people know you as their crown princess for all of your life, she started this as a virtual nobody. She uses that rivalry to her benefit to gain the support and attention you already have."

"I don't want to put on a show and I am not entirely sure that that is what she is doing, either. It appears to be more… personal." Methys mused darkly.

"Have you confronted her about it?"

"No. I am not eager in making a scene. And it's not as if she would be talking to me, when she has a choice. And frankly I am tired of her unjustified behavior. I did nothing to offend her, so why should I make the first step in installing peace, when she is apparently not interested at all. If the only way she wants to express herself is during the trials, then let her have her way. She will see what it got her. I for sure won't grovel at her feet, when I have done nothing wrong to warrant an apology."

He just shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two turned this into a feud that is entirely unnecessary and out of place. You want to be the best, Methys and so does she. I see that. However, if that is the only reason why you are participating then you should rather revoke your claim."

"I told you, it's not, but maybe you should tell her the same."

"She has her own advisors."

"Apparently, they are not very good ones."

"Oh, I think they are doing an excellent job if you look at where she started and where she is now and that is exactly what frightens me. Just do me the favor and do not play right into her hands. Do not provoke her any further."

"I did not provoke her." Methys objected vehemently.

Ithoran sighed. "You do so often enough without truly noticing. Political tact and diplomacy aren't exactly your forte. It's one off the things you have to work on. There is a small line between being charismatic or just plainly brash. On the bright side of things this situation can be practice for you. You still need to learn when it's better to keep your mouth shut and when it's required for you to be outspoken. With Sanai you obviously only did the latter."

"I did not…" She protested, but Ithoran interrupted her. "I know it's part of your personality and I know you don't mean ill by it, but I do know you since you were born. Not everyone you meet will have that luxury. You need to be more careful with your attitude. Look, all I am asking you is to not put more oil into the flame."

"That won't matter much if she is adding the explosives." Methys pouted, apparently miffed by the lecture.

"Yes, it will matter, because that is what a Senshi is supposed to do. A Senshi is supposed to be the wise one, who recognizes what fight should be fought and what fight is not worth fighting for. If you are going to embody that role any decision you take will have consequences to thousands of people if not more. They will look up to you as their example, their well-being will depend on your actions. At the end, it's your decision what first impression you will portray to your people. They see you as their trustworthy and reliable protector and if all you are willing to protect, is _yourself_…" He left the rest of the sentence unfinished.

Methys groaned. "I get it, ok? I will pull myself together and keep this under wraps as best as I can. However, I cannot make the same promise for her."

"Good, that's all I am asking for. And now I am done with talking about Sanai. How was your training?"

Methys did not seem to consider that a better topic to talk about. "I still did not reach the required time."

"You will get there."

"I only have four more days… and… no time." She noted worriedly.

"What did I say about putting too much pressure on you? Fear is your worst enemy. So, don't even start racing against it. You can only lose."

"You know, sometimes your lectures are entirely useless in a practical aspect." She noted skeptically.

"Maybe you apply the wrong practical aspect…"

"Then it would be highly welcome for you to correct me, my oh so wise cherished grandmaster."

Ithoran rolled his eyes, but he appeared to be more comfortable with her using his title in a jesting manner. "It's not your lungs that are the problem but your head. Your fear and doubt decenter you. Your focus is off and you are stressed and don't let me mention the circles under your eyes. Meditation is the correct means to get to the root of the problem."

Methys scoffed. "Well, you know time is not something I have abundantly. I had to skip my daily morning sessions in favor of training for days now."

"It shows. I do recommend you do an evening session today."

She scoffed. "I am expected at the opening ball. That's why Krana is supposed to doll me up, remember?"

Ithoran seemed to ponder about her words for a bit. Then: "I will create an opportunity for you to leave earlier. Use it efficiently and just to make sure you get it right: I mean meditation and sleep by that."

Methys abruptly stopped in her tracks completely astonished. "You serious?"

"Do I look like I am joking?"

"Well, now that I come to think about it, I don't really know, how you look when you are joking. You never do so."

He subtly rolled his eyes. "Well, that should answer your question sufficiently, then."

Methys started walking again albeit not without throwing him suspicious side glances. "To... to be honest, I didn't expect you helping me to slip away."

"Is that why you didn't ask for my help at all?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Kinda… I didn't really… well know where you stand."

He sighed. "What did I teach you on the battlefield when facing a superior foe?"

"Hit him in the balls to make him really mad and then blame someone else?" She suggested with a sly grin.

This time his eye roll was apparent. "I never told you that and you know it. Now answer seriously."

"Use your surroundings and don't act rashly?" Was her second more serious guess.

"That and I also told you to abandon fighting fair and square, when you see no way of winning like that. When it's about your own survival use everything you've got, even the mean tactics. If you die an honorable death, because you are too proud to use underhanded tactics you can protect no one and fail everyone."

"Ah… that. I remember. And… what does it have to do with everything?" She responded a bit lost.

"Seriously? Did you quick-freeze your brain while training? Sneaking away _is_ the underhanded tactics. So, in your current situation it is the right tactical choice."

"Oh, ahem right." She kinda looked at him as if she didn't know him anymore.

He of course noticed. Turning a tad bit scarlet he murmured. "But don't tell your mother I said that."

A sly grin appeared on her face. "Are you kidding? That way I could throw myself under the bus along with you." She halted briefly. "Wait, does that mean you would throw yourself under the bus for me?"

He grunted in response and mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like. "Slow in the uptake is not giving it justice, right now."

While talking they were walking through vast halls and corridors that deserved to be part of a palace. Most of the walls were made of a speckled stone that resembled marmot with the difference that the veins were of a blue color. Columns and arcs flanked their paths and detailed reliefs decorated the capitals. Some were covered in Silver, others painted in aquamarine patterns. The floor was shiny and made partly as a mosaic with tiles in the same color range. The whole design consisted of geometrical patterns: complicated spirals and entangled knots, circles and squares. If they had to compare it with art out of their history, the basic elements resembled a bit the Celtic design, but also had Mayan and Indic characteristics, a mix of everything. However, they were portrayed in complex and repeating mathematical patterns. Symmetry appeared to be a common feature. That and opposing walls showed always the same design, as did the pillars and other decorative elements.

Methys bare feet left a trail of dripping water on the tiles, but neither she nor Ithoran seemed to care. In fact, the Mercurian advisor hadn't batted an eyelash about her scarce clothing. The next moment they halted in her steps and Methys exhaled torturously. "Here, it comes…"

She reached for a touchpad and a door opened right in front of them. They entered what must be her quarters, which were vast and richly decorated. However, most of the decoration vanished entirely behind all her possessions, which were lined up everywhere and ranged from apparent combat equipment over books that might have as well been a whole library to technical devices and components draped on a way too fancy workplace to things they could only speculate what they were supposed to be used for. To be frank the layout and decoration clashed immensely with the interior of the room, the same as if you would rent the President Suite of the White House to a nerdy scientist who couldn't throw anything away.

Right in the middle stood an impatient and stern-looking woman, who was maybe in her late fifties. She had a disapproving frown on her face and her hands were stemmed into her sides. Her already graying dark-blue hair was bound in a thick braid. On her left temple were two thin braids with similar colored beads in it as Ithoran had. Her foot was tapping on the ground and her lips pursed disapprovingly, when she spotted Methys. "Well, our cherished princess honors my lowly self with her rare presence. I guess you must believe me to be able to work miracles with a snap of my fingers."

She displayed her best captivating smile. "Well, in fact I _know_ you can."

It rolled off the older woman like oil from a pan. She just narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Flattery gets you nowhere, young lady. You have five minutes to shower and not a second longer."

"Five minutes?!" Methys protested indignantly.

"Precisely. And I guess you need four of them to get that grisly slimy stuff out of your hair. Where the hell did you manage to pick that up? In the sewers?"

"Oh, come on, Krana. Take it easy for a minute… You still have almost three hours." Methys whined.

A sharp eyebrow rose. "And I will need every single second to make you look _somewhat_ presentable."

"Give me at least ten minutes!"

She folded her arms categorically. "Four minutes and 30 seconds and it's only becoming less. Princess." Her title sounded almost like an affront, while the older woman tapped resolutely with her foot, not budging an inch.

Methys rolled her eyes but hurried to what must be the bathroom mumbling to herself. "This day can only get better…"

From then on, the scenery seemed to blur for a moment and swirls of color surrounded them. They looked at each other inquiringly and Michiru already prepared herself to end up in the void or in their living room with the real Methys. However, her surroundings seemed to stabilize again and the same room took form only their occupants seemed to have changed their positions. Ithoran was gone and Methys sat on a chair with Krana fussing with her hair, chattering all the while.

_We skipped forward in time. _Michiru realized.

"… if you just had showed up earlier, I could have really done this new cornrow up do I have practiced for an occasion like that. I have been looking forward to trying it on you. That would have definitely caught some attention, but, no, you had to smash all those plans to bits by showing up more than one hour late."

Methys yawned obviously used to the lecture by now. "The waterfall braids will do." She replied, only listening with half an ear. Instead, she typed something on her wrist computer and let Krana continue ranting.

"You already had those at the last meeting with the Plutonian delegation three months ago and a princess should always be aware of that. You should be the one to set new trends."

"I like those. They are at least somewhat practical. I don't need a hairdo which might fall apart upon the slightest movement."

Krana scoffed clearly offended. "As if any of my hairstyles would ever fall apart."

"Of course not, you put in enough styling glue that I could summersault without a strand going amiss." Methys noted dryly.

"Don't you dare complain. That's a special mixture I invented myself. Its adhesive properties are exceptional while suppling nutrition and shine to the hair." She protested proudly. "And don't even think about summersaulting." She added as an afterthought.

"It smells like wallpaper paste." Methys noted dryly.

"Only in its liquid form. And … I added fragrances."

"Yeah, I still remember the one with Tagrenian waterlily. My hair smelled like rotten eggs for three days after it dried."

Krana blushed. "That was one unfortunate occasion. I couldn't know the fragrances would add up to … well … _that_."

"I would still appreciate it, if you don't use me as a guinea pig for your experimental hair products anymore. Although smelling like rotten eggs might be a convenient excuse for not attending that damn ball, I doubt my absence would be taken well. I might keep it in mind for future occasions, though." She twinkled at her cheekily.

"Hmpff, my talents are wasted here. The Venusians would hire me on the spot and I would be a well-known trend setter, surrounded by people who would appreciate and praise my unique talents…" She bragged dreamily.

"Oh, I don't know, smelling like rotten eggs would have been a definite no-go with them."

"That was ONE time. My other creations are outstanding."

Methys snickered. "That one was for sure outstanding, as well."

Krana scoffed, but chose to drop the embarrassing subject. "I am almost done. Where are our beads? You didn't wear them."

"First drawer on the left."

She reached for it and took out a small chattel. When she opened it, plenty of multicolored silver beads were revealed.

Krana frowned. "I almost don't want to ask… Two braids at your left temple?"

"No, you definitely shouldn't ask anymore. Three. In the back." She declared matter-of-factly.

Krana sighed defeated. "It's always the same with you three."

Methys shrugged nonchalantly. "You wanted us to be trendsetters five seconds ago."

"Not by refusing tradition."

"People have accepted that we wear them differently. It has become something of a trademark."

"Sure, it has." She arranged three long strands of hair at Methys' nape and carefully attached the silver beads in a certain order with two braids adorning plenty of them and the third only having only four at the top.

"I am done now. Not one of my masterpieces, but it will do. Although you wore that hairstyle before on official occasions, I do admit it suits you. After this conference is over, we could try some alterations. That way it won't be the same, but you could still wear it more often. I have some ideas that might work. Don't worry, nothing too overly fancy. I know the stipulations with you."

"That would be… acceptable. Then I might also have the time for it."

"You would have it now as well, if you just forgot about this Senshi endeavor of yours." Krana responded disapprovingly.

Methys groaned. "Don't even start it. I am tired of hearing it again and again."

"Then step out of the competition. You are bound to be Queen."

Methys rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance. "Not for much longer."

"How can you just give it up like that? Who is going to sit on the Throne if not you?"

"My brother obviously. Who else?" She responded nonchalantly.

Krana scoffed. "Bah, another breach of tradition. The Mercurian Empire is a matriarchate. We have Queens ruling, not Kings."

"That hardly makes a difference. My brother will be a better King than I can be Queen."

"That's not true. You might not be ready for the Throne yet, but there is still time anyway. Your mother's rule will last for decades to come. By the time your time to ascend will come, you will be ready. It is foolish to give up your right for the throne, now though."

"Krana, just accept that things will change. A king ruling is not a bad thing. My father was a good king, wasn't he?"

"Your mother was always the one ruling. He was just co-ruler." She clarified.

"Oh, please… He had more power than you want to admit. Way more. And he was a good king. At least that's what everyone is telling me."

Krana frowned and sadness crept into every crevice of her face. "He was the best." She admitted morosely. Her sharp gaze darted to Methys. "And he died on the same bloody battlefields you strive to be fighting in as Senshi, when you could sit safely on the throne as the rightful heir, instead."

There was a tense pause.

"You are concerned." Methys realized clearly astonished by her words.

Krana made a face as if she making a bad joke. "Concerned?! Of course, I am concerned when a war is looming at the horizon. My own husband died in the last one. I have seen the lot of you grow up. I did your very first braids when you have learned to do your first steps. I fastened your very first beads for passing your science exam. I was there when the news of the final battle got in. I was at court when it was announced that our King and so many others died. I saw what his loss did to everyone… and to his family. And now you lot are all members of the Glacials. Whenever you and your brothers draw your swords to prepare for battle, I fear for you. I fear what might happen, if hell truly breaks lose, I fear that you won't come back, just like him. That the next time I will see you, there will be no more cheeky jokes nor any other kind of talk. When all that's left for me is to braid in iridescent banyan petals as part of the traditional deathbed braids…"

Methys laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "As Senshi I will be strong. Stronger than most."

Krana's frown only deepened. "Your father was strong as well… and he still died. The Glacials were all strong and still so many of them died. Senshi can be killed too, especially if they have to face other Senshi."

"You worry too much, Krana. There is no war, yet and I want to make sure that it stays that way."

"You can do so as Queen. You don't need to put yourself in danger. As heir you would not be send out and by extension, your brother would not, either. You don't _need_ to fight. Just let Sanai do it."

Methys' expression darkened. "It's what I decided for myself to be."

"And you will regret that decision."

"Maybe… maybe not. Only time will tell. However, what I do need to know is: do I have your support no matter who I will be?"

Krana scoffed. "What does it matter? I am your hairdresser not an important political ally that might be of substantial use…"

A thoughtful frown appeared on her face. "It does matter… to me."

Krana eyed her suspiciously as if she expected a joke to follow at her expanse. When she said no more, Krana huffed albeit a bit of confusion was leaking through. "So, our princess turns sentimental. I never thought I'd see the day."

"I just would have … liked you to take my side in this."

Krana folded her hands categorically. "I don't take sides. And I still think your mother is right and you should listen to her. So, don't expect me to hold my tongue. I will try to talk you out of this outrageous idea of becoming the next Senshi as long as I still can and I am not too proud to use the dirty tricks either."

"And after you _tried_ that…?" She asked rather earnestly.

"Then, I of course _succeed_ in making you see reason. And afterwards I nag you with my 'I told you so.' at least a million times."

Methys smirked slightly. "Have you ever made me `see reason', before?"

Krana froze for a moment taken aback by the question.

"Well, there was this one time, when I told you cropping your hair entirely would cause a scandal and you… listened as much as a surprise as it was to me back then."

"I was twelve and fed up with sitting still for hours for you to do that terrible hairdo with the ribbons for Natai's birthday party. I thought threatening to crop them entirely would scandalize you enough to go easier on me and choose another simpler hairdo instead."

Krana raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Please tell me I didn't fall for a cheap trick like that."

Methys made a face. "Rest assured, you didn't. Well, to be honest, it kinda backfired. You chose an even more complicated design stating that should I ever crop my hair entirely you would have to attach extensions _every single time_. In fact, you explained the whole procedure in every gruesome time consuming and boring detail and I relented to common sense and the fact that it indeed _could_ get worse."

"See, that's an excellent example for one of your crazy ideas, I managed to avert."

"This is not about hairdos though and I am not twelve anymore." Methys pointed out.

"No, it isn't. It's about something of way greater importance and that alone already says something at least when it is about braids in the Mercurian culture. Your decision caused unrest and set apart the Mercurian folk at a time when we need it least. Your mother's job is to hold everything together and you made that task particularly difficult when everyone starts arguing left and right, questioning tradition, royal succession and politics as a whole. You shouldn't wonder that she is upset with you."

"Oh, I am not wondering about that." Methys deadpanned.

Krana sighed. "She sees your potential and just doesn't want it to go to waste."

"I told her a thousand times already that it's not going to happen. I am not going to sit on that Throne. She just has to be stubborn about it."

"The same way you are. You are just a chip of the old block after all, butting heads with the very person you got it from. Thick-headed mules if I have ever seen some."

"I am definitely not."

"Just tell yourself that, darling." She patted her shoulder in a mocking way.

Methys huffed indignantly.

"Atget says, I would make a good Senshi."

"Yes, and that's why those two are at odds with each other as well. It's not Atget's decision who is going to be her successor and Queen Anairin isn't pleased about her putting that idea in your head."

"It wasn't her that did that. I decided on my own."

"What for? If you want to serve Mercurian society you can do that just as well as Queen. Well, you could do it even better that way."

"No, I cannot. Out of the three of us I am the least suited to sit on that chair."

"Your brother does not want to sit there, either."

"Alone… no. That's why Natai and I decided to be his right and left hand. We will do it together, but we are gonna do it our way." She insisted.

"I just said it: stubborn, the whole lot of you. Typical for youth as a whole to always think they can do everything so much better with just a flick of their fingers."

"Well, we can't do much worse. As you already pointed out we _are _already at the brink of war."

"Yes, and it's thanks to your mother and everyone in charge that it isn't already ' we are right in the middle of a war'. Besides, we don't have to shy away from one. The losses of the last war made us stronger and everyone who wants to oppose us knows that and will think twice to actually make a move on us. Our alliance with the Neptunians guarantees a combined military force to reckon with to protect both of our worlds."

"You said yourself you don't want war. Why are you now hailing one?"

"I am not. I value peace, but I am neither naïve nor blind. With everything that's going on, we can't be seen as weak. Only the threat of retribution keeps the fragile balance between the Empires intact."

"One day that won't be enough." Methys responded morosely.

"No, one day it won't. And we are ready for that day."

"I am tired of living like that. The Alliance was once held together by more than constant fear, threats and vigilance."

"You can thank the Denyers for that. _They_ destroyed the Alliance by refusing to do their part when they were desperately needed. We did our part in defending this galaxy. We sacrificed our own King and thousands of brave Mercurian soldiers on the battlefield to gain _their_ freedom. If anything, the Riven War showed us one thing. At the end Mercurians can only count on Mercurians. We protect our world and they can protect theirs. That everything else is not working, was proved by history."

"That's not entirely true and you know it. Besides the Denyers the other nations banded together and only together the Riven War was won. Alone we would have stood no chance."

"Yes, and look what happened afterwards… That partial unity fell apart like a house of cards. We are stronger now. We learned out of our mistakes."

"Apparently not from all of them. War is a likely consequence of our current politics, but do we make any changes? We should reach out conciliatory hands instead of boasting with our military power. We are not trying to better the situation, but just wait for it to escalate."

"It's not our job to better the situation."

"It should be _everyone's_ job."

"That won't ever happen. The nations are not interested in bettering anything."

"If you are convinced by that, then the conference is superfluous."

Krana shrugged as if that was a given. "Of course, it is. We show good will by hosting it, but at the end it's for Mercurian interests only. Let the rest of the galaxy deal with their own problems. The more they have, the more we will benefit from them and for everyone else I don't care just as they do the other way around as well."

"There was a time when my father believed there was another way."

"Your father is dead because of that very belief, Methys, as is my husband. Believing brings you nothing but suffering and grief when all others just use those beliefs that are meant to be altruistic for their own benefit instead of contributing their part to make the whole thing work."

"The way it is now, it isn't working either. It just needs a tip in the wrong direction and everything falls apart."

"And that's why you shouldn't cause chaos by being selfish and vacating the Throne. Trust your mother in this. She knows what she is doing. She is balancing this peace on a needle's tip for decades now."

"Maybe she is doing it _so_ long that she doesn't even look for alternatives anymore."

"You can look all you want if there are none. It's just a waste of time. Don't waste your time, Methys and don't waste hers in forcing her to do damage control due to your actions."

"Ahh, now are coming the mean tactics you announced earlier. You trying to give me a bad conscience? I assure you, I have only Mercury's best intentions at heart. The old gridlocked tactics have long outlived their usefulness. Nothing can ever change if we stick to the old animosities and if we don't look beyond our own nose. Something has to change and whether it's towards war or something else _is still_ in our hands. Soon it might not be anymore…"

"Hmpf, your intentions are too good to ever survive reality. The Empires are selfish and greedy. That's what has been shown in the past over and over. It's not worth our time to play protector for the realm. We have already done that before and see what it cost us. We are already showing great benevolence in hosting the conference, when we should throw a great deal of the participants off our planet with a kick up the bum."

Methys wrinkled her nose. "That's exactly the kind of thinking that makes everyone think we are arrogant asses."

"I don't care what they think. It's true. And god believe me, it's better that I stay away from the ball or I would probably say something less than ladylike to that Lunarian bitch of a Queen. That she even dares to show her face here…"

"They have diplomatic immunity, so you rather leave them alone. If nothing else, we need to be civil. It can't be us who starts it." She added pensively.

"Pah, that snake in the grass is probably already scheming against us. Why else would she be here, if not to get her plans going?"

Methys' expression darkened. "I doubt she will have much of an opportunity here. Mother has her probably on close watch."

"Of course she has. From what I heard Atget is supposed to stick to her hackles."

"Makes sense."

"Well, if you say so. To some extent I really wish she would try something. However, that's unlikely. She rather lets others get her hands dirty, after all. That Queenie is way too much of a coward to act out against our Senshi."

"Don't forget she is one as well. And I didn't only mean it that way. Atget will act as wall _and_ shield. Mother plans to isolate her. Queen Serenity will not only be restricted in her interactions with others, but those others will also have their fair share of problems to get to her without Atget noticing."

"Well, I am sure if it's an assassin, Atget will gladly step aside." Krana sneered sweetly.

"Don't even joke about it." Methys looked towards the ground, troubled by the notion. Then she murmured darkly. "Something like that must not happen on our home turf."

"It's not that unlikely. The whole planet hates her. And well, I for sure know, what I would do, if I came even close towards a 10-meter radius to her. Spitting on her feet is the most harmless on the list. That much I can assure you." The venom in her voice did not seem to surprise Methys. Still she sympathized.

"Krana…"

The hairdresser continued as if Methys didn't even say anything. "Too bad, that ten seconds later the Jovians would come running to her heroic rescue just like the good little henchmen they are. If I were Queen Anairin, I would have refused to host them. If they want to participate in the conference so badly, they might as well sleep under some bridge for all I care. They don't deserve walking though these halls." She spat, hurt shining through the anger.

"If she did, we might as well have canceled the whole thing. Excluding the ones, one or more other parties can't stand, would leave us with no one. It's bad enough that some declined the invitations right away or did not respond at all. This conference is about solving issues between the Empires and not about generating new ones."

"Yeah, I bet. And you are eager to approach the Lunarian Queen and act as if nothing happened?" She asked acerbically.

Methys hesitated in her response, but her expression darkened considerably. "No, I don't like Queen Serenity very much either. Her decisions in the last war are… unforgivable."

Krana scoffed. "That's putting it mildly. My husband would still be around, if it wasn't for her. And so would your father." Krana noted darkly.

"I am sorry, Krana."

"You have done nothing to be sorry for. I knew what I got myself into when I fell for a military man in times of war." Her voice turned softer. "I hope you know what you are getting yourself into as well."

Methys shrugged helplessly. "I guess I will see when I am at that point."

* * *

_AN: And that's it for today. Again lots of background information in this chapter to flesh out the past a bit more… and we got to see Ithoran again. It's actually harder than I thought to write from the mirror's perspective. It's purely descriptive and I cannot really tell what people are thinking but need to express it solely through their behavior, used words and their overall presence, which might not be always equivalent to what they are thinking. Well, I put myself in that pit so I gotta learn to deal with it. Next time we will meet some Senshi… As always thanks for reading and let me know what you think._


	4. Imperfect

_AN: Phew, it's been a long time. I apologize for my long absence. For some reason I have really trouble to get back to schedule, but I try to do better from now on. So, don't worry the story will go on for sure. This part continues right where we ended in the last chapter: at the end of the conversation of Methys with her hairdresser Krana. The conference is about to start. Enjoy._

* * *

_Previously_

_Methys hesitated in her response, but her expression darkened considerably. "No, I don't like Queen Serenity very much either. Her decisions in the last war are… unforgivable."_

_Krana scoffed. "That's putting it mildly. My husband would still be around, if it wasn't for her. And so would your father." Krana noted darkly._

"_I am sorry, Krana."_

"_You have done nothing to be sorry for. I knew what I got myself into when I fell for a military man in times of war." Her voice turned softer. "I hope you know what you are getting yourself into as well."_

_Methys shrugged helplessly. "I guess I will see when I am at that point."_

* * *

Krana still looked at her with a mixture of sadness, worry and doubt. It was clear that she wanted to add more convincing reasons, that she hadn't given up her agenda to dissuade Methys from her plan to become Senshi. However, an animated knocking on the door thwarted any additional tries.

Methys who had watched her closely, startled back to attention.

"Come in."

Immediately, the door swished to the side to reveal a young man or rather a teenager, who was obviously a Mercurian as well, at least his appearance told as much. The same dark blue hair, tied to complicated braids, in his case three braids bound along the skull with the rest of his hair tied to a wolfs tail in the back. His bound her hair was loose and fell onto his back with the exception of three separate and thinner strands at his nape. Those strands were beaded similar to Methys' own, only the beads had different colors and designs.

He smiled radiantly at her, although there was a certain exhaustion visible in his features. Upon spotting her unexpected guest, Methys immediately responded his smile with one of her own.

"Natai!"

"Hey Methys! I see you are almost ready. And right on time. We have still twenty minutes to go. I thought there might still be the last piece missing."

Upon her confused expression he nodded towards his arm, where a richly decorated piece of clothing was draped over, in similar colors as he wore: aquamarine, white and silver. "Your Overcoat."

Methys scratched her head sheepishly. "Oh, I haven't even noticed that it was missing. Thanks."

"Well, it's hard to miss a single piece of clothing, when there are so many layers left. However, this one is new. Remember, when you complained that the royal Overcoat is way too warm. Gavin took that as his personal cue to design a lighter one for you. He wasn't sure, whether he would be able to finish it before the ball, but here it is, so he asked me to switch it with your old one right away."

"That's great." She eyed it critically, when he held it out for her inspection. "It looks exactly the same as yours."

"That's actually the point. Same design up to the slightest detail, besides the female alterations of course, but it's way lighter and the material is different as well. He tried one of his new self-invented artificial fabrics and he said he expects a critical review concerning wearing comfort, weak points and robustness."

"That he will get for sure along with my sincere thanks."

"Well, then there is no better time to start the test phase. Hurry up and get dressed. Time works against us … as always." He added awkwardly.

Krana took this as her cue to speak up. "The minimal requirement of your dress robes including your boots is in the changing room. I'll wait here, in case you manage to ruin your hairdo in those bare five minutes as your brother apparently already has. Come here, Natai, I need to fix the left braid. What did you do with it?"

He warded her off with raised hands to stop her from fussing over him. "Nothing, I swear. And it's barely five hairs that stand out."

"Five hairs too many for me. Now, stop squirming and hold still. This needs to be perfect or you will never find a cute girl that wants to dance with you."

"Oh, come on, why do all of you have to be so mean about it?" He whined.

"Because you are talking about nothing else for days. That's a grand invitation for teasing." Methys called out to him from the anteroom, inspecting her laid out clothes.

"Oh, you shut up or I swear if another Wellington shows up you can rescue yourself."

"Hemington." Methys corrected him automatically.

They continued to bicker, Methys in the anteroom and Natai fending off an overbearing Krana next door, who had still enough time to throw in some jests herself. The scenery faded again into a blur and this time Michiru caught a sly grin on Minako's face right next to her. She was momentarily confused until she finally got what amused the blonde so much. Whenever the memory faded out of focus, Methys was kinda getting in a state of undress, first when she showered and now when she apparently changed clothes. It wasn't something Michiru had thought of beforehand. She did not show them those pieces out of modesty reasons.

That observation made Michiru smile as well. She had not even considered those implications before. These memories were indeed personal and Michiru understood why she cut out those parts. Still, she truly wondered how complicated it was to tell the mirror to record and display only specific pieces. The fact that Methys could do it, implemented a certain proficiency concerning the mirror's workings, Michiru still had no explanation for. They might be cousins, close friends even for all she knew, but why could she use the Neptunian talisman like that? It was still an enigma and she looked forward to more answers and especially to her former self finally making an appearance. She wanted to see Michiko and she was almost bursting from excitement upon the prospect of finally getting to know more about her.

The next scene was apparently a more or less direct continuation of her dressing up. Natai and she had left her room and Krana was not with them anymore. They passed through vast corridors of the Mercurian Royal palace, all dressed up formally in those shiny robes. Methys looked like the entire opposite of before, all dolled up and regal, and the family likeness between her and Natai was emphasized by the intended similarities in their expensive-looking overcoats. Methys was busy typing at her wrist computer, a small materialized virtual screen in front of her. Natai wasn't disturbed by it, steering her in the right direction, whenever she almost walked into a pillar or narrowly missed a junction. The corridors were now replaced by arcades that run through the rich gardens and other Mercurians crossed their paths, nodding respectfully towards them.

Michiru noticed that those braids appeared to be really important in their culture. Whoever they encountered, their hairstyles might differ, but they all wore two of those thin braids with the colorful beads at their left temple. Only Methys and Natai wore them in the back and both of them had three braids instead of the normal two. Truly an interesting fashion detail, considering that the Methys Michiru had got to know, did not wear any braids at all. Was that accosted to Ami's choice of hairstyle? However, in her ghost-like form she wasn't bound to look like Ami, was she? Michiru forced herself to push those thoughts aside. She was supposed to concentrate on what was happening around her, not on unimportant details.

Soon, they left the arcades of the garden and Michiru mourned the loss already. She could have probably spent days in there and she felt her brain itch in eagerness to paint the beautiful display of pristine iridescent flowers, intricate twines and ancient discolored trees that might have come straight out of a fairy tale. It was apparent how much care and consideration had been put into arranging and cultivating those gardens. Even now, there were plenty of Mercurians invested in making them look their best, clipping flowers, removing dead leaves, moving pots and decorating the handrails of bridges with braided flower chains that reminded Michiru of Indian marigold garlands.

In general, all the inhabitants of the palace appeared to be quite busy, following their various tasks. One rather young girl was draping a flower chain around the neck of a statue, another man was balancing a tray with what looked like greenish cocktails past them and an elder man with plenty of those colorful beads in his hair was giving muted orders into what looked like a small headset attached to his ear.

Natai and Methys greeted whoever they encountered on their way, Natai more than his sister, since she was quite distracted by whatever she was doing on her wrist computer.

Finally, the two reached two impressive portal doors and halted in their steps briefly. Two guards flanked them, their silver armor shining, an identical aquamarine short cape draped over their left shoulder, sporting a circle with two vertical wavy lines crossing through stitched into the material at the collar. Each of them had two identical swords strapped to their backs and they even wore silver helmets that consisted out of several scale-like metal plates covering each other like enlarged and shiny roof tiles. For a moment undisturbed by her computer, Methys nodded towards the two and they returned the gesture with a small smile that made it apparent that they knew each other.

"Ten minutes left according to schedule." Natai noted with a brief look to his wrist.

"And where is he?" Methys asked looking around. "We wanted to meet here. We are supposed to make a joined entrance."

Natai shrugged. "I don't know. He was quite busy the last time I have seen him." He looked sheepishly to the ground, a guilty mumble on his lips. "Might have been, because I left him with the Venusian delegation."

"You … What? I thought you said you deal with them."

"That was before I was supposed to bring you your new Overcoat. It wouldn't have been a problem at all, if the Venusians weren't late as usual. They barely made it in time. He is probably still dealing with them, now."

Methys sighed. "Great. I guess that one goes on me too. Maybe we should already get inside. Might be that we need to stall some time."

He shrugged casually. "Well, then let's go …" He stepped towards the portal doors and the guards pulled them open immediately. Behind awaited them a vast magnificent ante hall, decorated in the Mercurian colors. On the other side there was the exit in form of even more impressive portal doors that were currently closed. They were flanked by another set of two guards. Plenty of people were bustling through the hall, most of them pages, aides or waiters, doing some last-minute adjustments and carrying around everything from food, drinks or decoration. Methys and Natai strode forward nearing the other end of the hall, where a bunch of people had gathered talking amongst each other.

Upon their approach the head of a woman with long wavy teal hair peeked up and she immediately turned their way, a happy smile on her face.

Michiru's heart almost leapt out of her chest, when she got closer and recognition struck her like a flash of lightning.

_That's her. Michiko. That's my former self._

Her clothing was obviously very different in style. Whereas the Mercurian robes looked formal and strict and more like a military dress uniform, completed by boots and the long Overcoat, Michiko wore a long ballroom dress, with a light shawl and multiple carefully draped cloth around her that wafted with every step she took. As to be expected turquoise colors predominated and she wore plenty of fancy jewelry that was made out of shells, pearls, corals or a combination of all.

She embraced Methys immediately after she reached them, the sunlight glinting at a small diadem on the top of her head. "There you are."

"Here I am." Methys murmured back grinning and returning the embrace whole-heartedly.

They parted from each other and Michiko scanned her whole form critically an edge of worry now visible in her furrowed brows. "You truly had me worried. I heard the worst stories of you being struck with the most terrible stomach flu the world has ever seen, puking gross stuff all night long. Even your brother wasn't sure you would make a full recovery."

For a moment Methys looked baffled. Then she slowly turned sideward.

"Natai?!" She asked threateningly.

He raised his hands in surrender. "I swear it I didn't tell stuff like that. She is making it up."

Her suspicious glare darted back to Michiko, who couldn't hide the mischief any longer. She just shrugged. "Well, you should. Or at least you should have tried that one next. No one wants a potentially contagious bacteria launcher in their midst."

"Well, I was planning on showing up eventually. Otherwise, mother would have probably ripped my head off."

Michiko scanned her now in earnest. "You look tired. Things have been crazy lately, haven't they?"

"That they have. I –" She was interrupted by Methys' wrist computer that had started beeping.

Methys gave her an apologizing look. "Sorry, I have to take that." Michiko just waved at her dismissingly as if it wasn't a big deal and turned to Natai. However, as soon as Methys was distracted her eyes darted back to her briefly, looking worried.

Oblivious to her prying eyes, Methys turned around and looked for a quiet corner that wasn't bristling with activity and noise, before she took the call and the flickering face of an elderly Mercurian appeared right in front of her, projected by the wrist computer.

"Princess." He nodded at her respectfully. "I made the adjustments you wanted. It was quite a short notice, but the Nachas will be served as additional dessert."

"Excellent." She nodded at him gratefully. "Thank you for the splendid work."

"Well, you know my opinion. You can never have enough dessert."

Methys grinned at him. "Yes, I learned that as well, recently. The rest is going according to schedule?"

"Yes, we are in time with everything on the menu. I kept Prince Natai posted as you instructed. You also requested additional snacks during the morning sessions for the conference participants in your message some hours ago. Is that still required for the next days?" He asked her politely.

Methys nodded. "Yes, make sure to include something sweet as well. Best would be a small buffet for people to take whatever they want. Oh, and we still were not sure about the second course for the final dinner. Throw out the smoked veal brisket and include instead the one you suggested for the more local cuisine."

He smiled at her approvingly. "I will do."

"That's it for now. Thanks for being so accommodating with these short-notice changes."

He chuckled. "I am a cook. I live of improvisation and short-notice changes."

"I believe that on the spot. Now, I won't hold you from your work for much longer. You know how to reach me in case there is any urgent trouble. Otherwise, I leave the rest in your competent hands."

"Rest assured, princess, not even the Venusians will complain, well … at least not because of the food." With these parting words he closed the connection. Methys just shook her head in amusement.

She briefly looked back to Michiko and Natai, who talked animatedly. "Well, not much happening so far… I might as well…" She again typed something on the keys of her wrist computer and another sterner face appeared in front of her. "Princess. I didn't expect you to call, now. Hasn't the reception already started?"

"Chairman Ravel." She greeted him way more formally than the cook before. "No, we are still waiting for the Venusians. I took the opportunity to call because of the schedule changes I suggested."

He frowned at her. "I thought as much. You are aware the guided tour to the main shield generators was planned from the very beginning. I am very reluctant to take it out of the schedule, now."

"It came to my attention that one free afternoon might be appreciated by the attendants."

"With all due respect, this is no vacation, but a political conference that serves to promote Mercury's best interests. Showing off the finest of our technology will serve as a reminder that there is nothing that equals Mercurian science and engineering." He responded arrogantly.

"I am well aware of that. However, most of the shield generator technology is top secret anyway and has therefore not been cleared for the visitors to be seen. Plus, you planned to surround them with a security entail that might appear a bit too threatening for some. In my message I did not recommend to cancel the whole tour, merely to shorten the technical aspect and include a tour to the city center to show some of Mercury's sights especially to the attendants, who are not so much interested in our technological advances. We have more to offer than that. That way it might come across as less … threatening and well… it wouldn't come across as much as a show off tour anymore."

"Well, too bad that that's exactly what it was supposed to be." He noted sarcastically.

A muscle twitched in Methys' jaw. "I am not sure anymore that this is the message we want to get across."

"I can't think of a better one."

"Well, _I can_ and I just suggested it right now."

Chairman Ravel grunted clearly not thrilled by her idea. "I am not sure you are aware of how much planning has already been put in this tour in terms of ensuring security, censoring and the choice of an appropriate route and you suggest giving up on the entire schedule and planning everything anew in merely four days?" His blatant disapproval couldn't be more apparent.

Methys forced a smile, but you could see her stiffen. "With all due respect, I am very well aware of _every detail _of the planning. I was chosen as the Chief Organizer of the entire conference by my mother, after all. So, I see it in my right to have a final say in all matters concerning the conference. And, it is _my explicit_ wish to see these adjustments carried out. I assure you it's doable and an additional tour through the innermost city will not require a larger or more complex security entail than the one that was planned anyway. On the contrary, security can be reduced and adapt to a civilian dress code, since I don't expect them to steal our most secret cooking recipes. I am _sure_ it can be done with minimal adjustments and I _will _recommend you an excellent city guide for the occasion, who happens to be a member of the Glacials as well. So, no extra security check will be required for him."

His face appeared to be frozen into a semi-polite mask. "If this your _explicit _wish, then it is my _duty_ to yield to the Chief Organizer's decision. Let me just point out that no further short-notice changes in terms of schedule can be realized in the little time we have left."

Methys gave him a chilly smile. "Duly noted, Chairman. I try to spare you from any further surprises."

"That would be highly appreciated. Now, if you will excuse me, I wish you a successful conference, … Chief Organizer." He responded oily and they could see a muscle in Methys' jaw twitch upon the address.

"I was under the impression you would join the festivities?"

He looked as if he would prefer doing anything else but that. "At a later time point. Right now, I have other matters to attend. I am sure the frivolous intercultural mingling does not require my undivided attention." He responded with a derisive undertone.

Methys kept her tone neutral, but you could see it took her some effort. "Then, best of luck in your endeavors."

"To you as well, Chief Organizer." He responded as a mere pleasantry.

After his last words and a fake smile, Methys closed the connection and the transparent projection of his face in front of her vanished. With an eye roll she muttered. "Flexible as an icicle, as always…" Then she turned around to join Michiko and Natai again.

Approaching them, they noticed that their little group of two had grown to four people. Two women had joined the fray; one appeared to be Mercurian and one Neptunian. To say the two stood out would have been an understatement.

That was especially true for the Mercurian. In contrast to her peers, who wore long sleeved robes, hers had no sleeves at all. It just stopped covering her at her shoulders. Although short in stature, like all Mercurians so far, her bare arms showed off her athletic build that got even more apparent since most of her upper back was bare as well. She was by no means bulky, but rather toned like a panther. Her long hair was braided along her scalp in a plethora of thin cornrow braids and fell down to her shoulder blades. At her temple were the two familiar bangs and she wore plenty of those beads. What made her really stand out though were the tattoos. The visible part of her upper back was covered in a complicated design of black lines, spirals and symmetric patterns that travelled up her neck and even covered her face. She made a spectacular sight and reminded Michiru of a Maori, the native residents of New Zealand, who were famous for their facial art. She had to admit, although she came across as a bit intimidating, it looked artistic and the woman knew how to wear it. The fact, that she smiled at the unknown Neptunian made her appear a bit more approachable.

Said Neptunian on the other hand stood out amongst her peers in an entirely different way. She wore armor. Elegant armor that served more of a decorative function than being able to survive an actual battle, but armor nonetheless. It was made out of light-colored leather and various sea creatures, and what appeared to be a trident-wielding woman were engraved into the surface on her back as teal silhouettes. Her arm- and shin guards as well as her sandals were made out of the same material and decorated with ammonite-like swirls. Metal sandal decoration traveled up to her ankles twirling around her shins and calves like floating seaweed and similar decorative metal rings were attached to her upper arms. Underneath she wore a loose teal- colored tunic that seemed to come closest to what the other Neptunians wore, but showed off quite a bit of cleavage. Her shoulder length hair was loose and when she turned, they could spot the typical Senshi tiara on her forehead. It revealed the unknown Neptunian's identity to them.

In front of them stood the Neptunian Senshi and … it wasn't Michiko.

They all looked baffled towards Michiru, who was equally confused_. Her former self wasn't the Neptunian Senshi? Instead, Michiko was standing right next to her. What was going on?_

The next moment, the tattooed Mercurian turned her head a bit to talk to Natai and that's when her forehead got more visible to them and they could see what has blended into the tattoos from a certain distance and angle. She wore a Senshi tiara as well.

That observation sent a wave of surprise through their assembly of watchers, when they finally recognized her.

_The tattooed woman must be Atget, the one Methys had mentioned before. She was the Mercurian Senshi. The one who was going to retire. The one whose successor Methys wanted to become._

Michiru had to admit, it was a bit of a shock. Whatever she had imagined the Mercurian Senshi to look like, that wasn't it. A scholar would have fit into the range of her expectations or at least someone less rough looking. Someone like her she would have more expected to see during a bar brawl in a rowdy motorbike club. It would need some time to get used to.

In the short time they ogled the two Senshi, Methys had reached the small group. She immediately addressed Michiko. "Sorry, for the interruption. Organizational stuff is unfortunately part of the job description." She turned towards the two newcomers in greeting. "Atget. Neso."

The first just nodded at her, while the Neptunian Senshi, Neso, stepped forward for a quick and heartfelt embrace. "It's good to see you, Methys. I hope this whole gathering is not causing too much trouble for you."

"I am fine, thank you. I was always a stickler for multitasking anyway." The slight irony resonating in those words wasn't planned at least not according to Methys' grimace right after the words left her mouth.

Neso exchanged a quick glance with Atget. "I guess this is about the upcoming Senshi trial. Well, you are on top of the current point table. That's already worth something, isn't it?"

"By a hairbreadth. Let's see for how long it will stay that way…" She pointed out morosely.

Neso chuckled and Methys appeared slightly hurt by her reaction. The Neptunian Senshi just smiled at her and put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, dear, but Mercurians and their ambition to always come out on top always astonish me. Even complaining when they are winning. You lot are such overachievers. Striving to be the best has put your civilization where it is right now. However, as someone who has no Mercurian blood in her veins let me offer some advice." She paused thoughtfully, as if she had just a better idea. "Or maybe… we can approach this a bit differently." She suddenly unfastened the metal bracelet around her arm and handed it to a startled Methys.

The young Mercurian looked at the Neptunian Senshi inquiringly.

Neso gestured towards the bracelet. "Say, what do you think of it?"

Confusion was written all over Methys' face. "I beg you pardon…?"

"It's an easy question, isn't it? What do you think of this bracelet?" She repeated inquiringly.

Methys apparently didn't agree to that first assessment, since her response turned out rather hesitant. "It's … silver. A rather pure alloy with…"

"Yes, that's the material." Neso interrupted her not unkindly. "… but what do you _think_ of it? Do you like it? Would you have purchased it as jewelry? Does the design appeal to you? What would you change on it, if you had the chance?"

Methys appeared to be still looking for the crux of those questions, when the rest of the group chose to remain silent to watch what was happening. Apparently, not finding any hidden traps in what was asked of her, she answered honestly. "Yes, I like that bracelet. It's well-crafted and … beautiful and… I don't think there needs to be anything changed."

"So, you deem it worthy to such an important occasion like this conference?"

Unsure what was the correct answer Methys just chose the most obvious. "Yes, of course."

"So, you deem it perfect for the occasion, if there is nothing you would change?"

"Well, em…yes?" It was more a question then a true response and the longer this question-answer game proceeded the more unsure Methys appeared to be.

"I see and do you think everyone else in this hall would think the same way? Some of these attendees might be jewelry crafters or miners or just enthused with fashion. Do you think all of them would consider this bracelet a masterpiece, too?"

"Well, I don't know. Not everyone has the same taste, so… probably… not?"

Neso appeared pleased by her answer. "No, probably they would not. And in their own right they would be correct in their assessments. I agree with you that this bracelet is indeed beautiful. The whole concept of the design just fits, does it not? And still… when you touch it, you will find scratches on it; you will find the traces of the used handcrafting tools and when you look closely tiny impurities will be embedded in the metal. Also, the left fin of the dolphin is not entirely symmetric to the right one. This…" She pointed at the bracelet. "… is not perfect, but it does its job rather adequately. More importantly, I chose this piece of jewelry to wear over plenty of others. Those others I have are of better quality, crafted by notable designers and cost ten times as much as this one. However, I chose this bracelet to wear, because I consider it entirely beautiful despite its imperfections, maybe even because of its imperfections. I could ask another crafter to do a replica of this, to make it better, to make it perfect, but do you know what? It wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be unique anymore. It wouldn't hold the same place in my heart. Trying to make it perfect, would even destroy what makes it unique irretrievably."

Methys looked confused by her explanations and it didn't escape Neso. "Do you know who made this, Methys?"

Methys carefully shook her head.

"Michiko did." She pointed to her left and the Neptunian Crown princess smiled. She had entirely kept out of their conversation, so far.

Michiko shrugged at her cousin. "It was a gift for her ascension anniversary."

"And I value it even more, because of for what it was made for and of whom it came from. It could be the ugliest piece in the world and I still would have chosen to wear it today, because it means a great deal to me." Neso admitted with a small smile.

"Good to know. So next time I can gift you the blank and save the 40+ hours of work I put into it?" Michiko added a tad bit cynically.

Neso ignored her. She looked expectantly at Methys and wrapped her hands around Methys' that still held the bracelet. "Do you understand what I want to say? Beauty is not necessarily perfection, and perfection is not necessarily beauty. And none of those characteristics would be able to describe the worth of this piece in its entirety. In my case beauty or perfection did not even matter, but a third perspective that wasn't even in the picture in the beginning: the crafter. There will always be plenty of facets that make up a grander picture, facets that can be contradictory, facets that are not always visible and some that only matter in the eye of a specific beholder. How do you want to determine which facet is more important than the others? You cannot, because each facet holds a different value for a different person. In fact, all of those concepts are subjective and not ultimate. They change in the eye of the beholder. They depend on what a person expects to see. They even change over time for the same person. There is no ultimate beautiful, the same as there is no ultimate ugly. And on a larger scale the same goes for other concepts as there is no true right or wrong. You have to define all those things for yourself and then you have to keep redefining them." She made a small break to let her message sink in.

"To do that, you will use your knowledge, you will use logic, but ultimately those 'opinions'…" She pointed at her chest, right where her heart is. "They come from here, Methys…" Then she pointed at her head. "…not from here. Your heart decides what is beautiful or perfect, Methys. Not your head. And definitely not the heads of others. Don't forget that and listen what your heart has to say when you are in doubt. Those concepts are seen by everyone differently, sometimes even society dictates a certain view, but at the end only your own perception matters, not the one of others. It's you, who decides what Senshi you are gonna be. Your head can guide you, but the ultimate decisions have to come from your heart. Because it's you, who has to live with them. There will be plenty of people to tell you what to think and what to do. You can't satisfy them all. In fact, you shouldn't. You can't be that kind of perfect. And… you don't need to be. Test scores have their own value, but they portray only one aspect of many and most often not even the one that's most important. Don't forget that. Giving 100% is not always better than 80% especially in the long run. It's the end result that counts not some random numbers and if you reach it with the least possible effort, all the better. You can use that spare energy you saved for other things." She pointed out with emphasis and genuine care.

Methys lowered her head with a small smile. "I… I understand."

Neso smiled at her with a small nod. "I know you do. The tricky part is to remember, when it is important. You can keep the bracelet as a good luck charm... and…" Her eyes twinkled. "…as a reminder."

Methys hesitated. "But…if you like it so much…"

"It's fine. I know it will be in good hands."

"But it was a gift for you and..."

"I don't mind. Do you, Michiko?"

The Neptunian shrugged casually. "No. It's yours, now. You can pass it on to whoever you please. I can make you another one for your next anniversary. A better one. This one was actually one of my first tries."

Neso made a face. "Oh no. Not you, too. Did you not listen to what I said just right now? I don't want a perfect one."

Michiko shrugged helplessly with a croaked smile on her lips. "I can't help it. I am half Mercurian, remember?"

"Bah, nonsense. That's the recessive part. Your Neptunian heritage is definitely the one in charge."

"I am not always so sure about that. Believe me, that perfectionist streak is hard to battle down." Michiko noted skeptically. "However, I can produce extra-crooked jewelry in the future just for you. Just please don't tell anyone that I made it."

"So, crafting something subpar does not sit well with you? That's definitely the Mercurian talking."

Atget chose that moment to comment, eyeing Neso with a quirked eyebrow. "Come on, Neso, don't harass the poor girl, just because for you thriving for perfection accounts as an unattainable goal. It's not that most Mercurians don't agree to that. It's just an excellent drive."

Neso scoffed. "Yeah, it can _drive _you nuts."

"It can also drive you to become better. You just need to know where to draw the line."

Neso harrumphed. "The problem for your people already starts with realizing that _there is_ a line."

"Oh, that lesson typically runs by itself early on. And if not…" She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, exhaustion and frustration will be an excellent teacher to tell you when it's enough." There was a subtle side-glance towards Methys, when she uttered those words.

Neso just shook her head disbelievingly. "You really are no help in getting _my_ lesson across, Atget."

A small knowing smile contorted the tattooed lines on her cheeks. "Well, I never said I would be."

"And here comes the smart ass again…"

"I am not the one who likes to hear herself talking." Atget noted dryly.

"Ouch, and here I am trying to be all wise and helpful and… preachy and you just come and waltz all over it. On which side of the bed fell you out, today?"

An eyebrow almost merged with a tattooed line. "I would be grateful if it had been a bed. You know very well that I had to sleep on the chair on the transport since _you_ occupied the only bed. I still have a kink in my neck."

"Oh, your poor old bones. It's not my fault that you lost the draw for the bed _and_ I offered to share."

She folded her arms in front of her chest and shot the Neptunian a pointed look. "You hog the blanket and you tend to lash about randomly in your sleep. I rather prefer to not wake up with a black eye, thank you very much."

"And now you exaggerate. You are still cranky about this one time, when we were injured and had to share the transport, when I accidently pushed you out of the bed. I just had a nightmare and that was years ago…. Will you ever not hold that against me?" Neso clearly considered the incidence amusing, Atget however less so.

"I had a broken arm. That fall hurt like hell."

"Well, it wouldn't have hurt in the first place, if you just listened to me and just cleaved that Uranian wolf in half instead of trying to smooth-talk it into giving its paw. Those are ravenous beasts and no cute pets to snuggle with." Neso just rolled her eyes upon the ludicrous thought.

"I almost got it to not attack. _You _were the one, who had to move and frighten it."

"Frighten it? I thought it would bite your head off. Truly, why do you have such a soft spot for animals?"

"They are gorgeous beasts. I didn't want to kill it."

"Yeah, you made that clear when you let it go even after it almost bit off your arm. I could have killed it, but no, you had to call me back." Neso just shook her head with a desolate sigh.

"It was already retreating. Biting me was only to buy time. It never truly intended to injure me seriously, just, to drive the both of us away."

"Well, then of course it's entirely harmless." She deadpanned.

"It was just protecting its territory and its litter."

"Yeah, that's what you claim… There was no true evidence that it even had pups."

"Yes, there were. It was a female and the fur in its neck had a purple hue. They only have that when they give milk for pups. And it tried to lure us away from its den. I told you there was a small cave where this rock formation was."

"Sorry, I didn't look at the fur in the neck. I was busy with ogling its teeth, its rather sharp fangs to be precise. The ones you apparently overlooked."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't only focus on the most obvious threat…"

"That typically works excellently, if the aim is to stay alive. But you needed to play the wolf whisperer. I always almost get a heart attack, when you do stunts like that. It bit cleanly through your radius. It could as well hit something lethal. All you had to do was keeping your swords steady the moment it pounced. Instead you moved them out of its path." She chided.

"It wasn't out for a kill. There was no need for me to end its life."

"Well, you could have taken its pelt…"

"And what was I supposed to do with that? I don't even wear long sleeves. I do not get cold."

"How should I know? You could have used it as wall decoration or as a bedside rug."

"Because I love it so much to dig my toes into something I killed, right after I woke up?" She asked incredulously.

Neso briefly tilted her head to the side as if she refrained from saying: good point. However, she was far from done.

"And what if it attacked others? What's with the next person that crosses its path? We could have prevented that."

Atget shrugged. "We were in the middle of nowhere. Chances were slim for another encounter."

"Why am I even trying to talk some reason into you? We won't see eye to eye about this anyway. I can't even remember how often we argued about this particular encounter. You are sometimes too lenient for your own good."

"I am a scholar _and_ a warrior. I can decide which means to use based on the situation I face. The same way Michiko has the freedom to choose the best from two cultures after all."

"Yeah, and that on itself would be fine, if you didn't risk life and limb, while making matters more complicated than they had to be. Oh, and don't think I did not notice your little side blow to distract me."

"You know what? You are right. We talked about that a hundred times already and I am sure Methys and Michiko are already tired of our squabbling."

Michiko shrugged and waved it off. "No, not really… Just keep going…"

Neso smirked, Atget frowned and Methys whispered to Michiko. "I don't think that was the answer Atget wanted to hear."

"Well, too bad… They really are better than any old couple. Hilarious."

Atget quirked an eyebrow. "You are aware that we can hear you, aren't you, Michiko?"

The Neptunian Crown Princess chose the coward's way out by considering the question strictly rhetorical. She rather chose to change tactic towards diversion. "Well, that encounter with the Uranian wolf was on Pluto, wasn't it?"

Atget continued to eye her, not willing to go along with her obvious change of topic, but Neso did. "Yes, almost eight years ago. The Uranians brought them with their striking forces during the raids on the mines. Some escaped and use the wilderness to thrive. Pretty robust creatures, if you ask me, surviving in those rocky deserts."

Atget nodded. "As I said gorgeous beasts..."

Neso's palm hit her face. "That seals it. Next birthday I gift you a pup. If you retire you need something to do anyway. You can be the old cat lady just with wolves and if they bite your limbs off, well at least you are retired then. I can picture it in front of my eyes, a nice cozy spot with a beautiful landscape and breathtaking view. You can do paintings from morning to evening without ever leaving your chair."

The scathing look that followed was only half-hearted. "Why do you always feel the need to jest about my drawing habits?"

"Because you do it at the most ridiculous times. I still remember, when we were under siege in Abudis for the first time. While we waited for the Uranians to attack you suddenly unpacked your drawing utensils and started to make sketches from the soldiers and the city ruins. I truly wasn't sure whether something hit your head, when I wasn't looking…"

"That old story again… You really are in the mood today." She complained.

"It's not as if your drawing habits are not already legendary." Methys laughed at her.

"And still I get never tired of hearing about it." Michiko agreed. "I can't stop imagining the faces of everyone. There they are in the middle of a battlefield expecting hell to break lose at any time and what is their greatest warrior doing? Asking them to pose."

Atget just harrumphed, while earning a soft elbow tap from Neso. "Well, it calmed the troops. As long as their Senshi is the tranquility itself, things can't be so bad, can they?"

"If you say so…"

"Oh, come on, don't play us for fools. It's why you have done it, at least for the first time. They were nervous as heck. They needed a distraction and you provided in the most unconventional way possible. Now, you tend to do that as soon as we have a bit of time at our disposal."

"You sure complain quite a lot about me today."

"No complaints. Not really. I actually like your drawings. You've gotten really good over time."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Well, that Mercurian perfectionist streak is good for something then, isn't it?"

A brief shrug. "Occasionally. That much I am willing to admit."

"Told you so. Every culture has its quirks. That doesn't mean you can't make them work for you." Her eyes settled on Michiko and they could see for the first time that they were lighter than Methys' and softer than her rough tattooed appearance might imply. "And you Michiko, should consider your heritage as a blessing to be proud of. Don't let yourself be pressured into one cultural role or the other. You can choose the best from both worlds and make it even better by merging it together."

A smile appeared on Michiko's face. "Duly noted and already put to practice. Well, at least partly. After all I chose to wear two braids to honor my Mercurian side." She pointed at her temple.

Neso cocked her head to the side and uttered a desolate sigh. "Of all the things, you have to interiorize their horrible sense in fashion?"

That earned her the scathing look of the three present Mercurians: Atget, Natai and Methys.

Neso was only amused by their responses. "Predictable. And still always a barnburner."

Michiko cleared her throat. "Well, I pretend you didn't say that. You know as well as I do, that badmouthing the braids of a Mercurian accounts to slapping them in the face."

"Oh, I knew there was something I forgot." Her eyes twinkled and the three present Mercurians did not look all to affronted, just fed up with a joke that has apparently been used too often against them.

"I might not have earned any beads as per Mercurian tradition, but I still think it's important to point out my solidarity and honor my ancestry. Dad wears his braids and beads as well."

"Well he has grown accustomed to wearing a mixture between both styles anyway. Your father may be The Neptunian King now, but he would never forget where his roots lay. He is a son of both worlds after all. If not biologically like you are, then at least spiritually."

"He is looking forward to coming home for weeks now. And, Methys I think you did him a personal favor by including the Agora tarts in the buffets. He loves those and always complains Neptunian cooks never get it right."

"I might have known that already beforehand. You can tell him I have also purchased some fermented emmer seedlings with noble rot for him to take."

Michiko made a face. "Ugh, I can never understand how you can eat that gross stuff, but he will be thrilled."

"It's a delicacy."

"I tried it. Definitely not my cup of tea."

A small chuckle came from the youngest Mercurian. "Well, your loss. Uncle Altan will be glad that he does not have to share."

Neso seemed to agree. "That's a given. What is the saying: a happy king is a good king. Thanks for taking care of it, Methys. I know you have been exceedingly busy. Between organizing the conference and your training for the next trial you must be stretched thin."

Methys' form seemed to shrink a bit and she gave her a smile that was equally forced and empty. Natai froze and Michiko cleared her throat, which was probably a subtle try to change the topic to anything else but her Senshi ascension. Neso of course noticed the signs and a hint of pity was briefly visible in her features, before she quickly chased it away.

"Don't look so gloomy, Methys. You are in the lead right now. Think about what I told you. And to make it a bit easier for you: If I remember correctly, the one holding the current Mercurian Senshi position, wasn't even the first in points when she was chosen by the talisman. Were you, Atget?"

Methys looked at her surprised and the Mercurian Senshi sent Neso a slightly disgruntled look, before she sighed. "I was the third out of the three final contestants and I was no one's favorite. It was quite the surprise that the talisman chose me. Well, no one's favorite might be a bit of a lie. Your father, the King, told me afterwards that he was rooting for me throughout the entire competition." Atget stated simply.

"Yeah, he was always talented in recognizing greatness in people." Neso added nostalgically.

Methys gave them a weak smile.

Neso put a hand on Methys' shoulder. "I am sure you will reach your goal. I would be delighted to work with you in the future. And if you do, I am finally freed of that eccentric grandma." The Neptunian Senshi shamelessly pointed at Atget, who raised an indifferent eyebrow at the Neptunian's try to lighten Methys' spirits at her expanse.

"I am going into early retirement. That doesn't mean I am dying." Atget stated dryly.

"You sure? You lost our last spars three times in a row and your reflexes have been once faster, as well." She jested.

Atget was entirely unimpressed. "I am still way ahead in the total count of wins. You just got lucky for once and immediately it goes to your head."

"Oh, is there someone miffed? To me it looks as if you get tardy upon your old days…"

"I just told you I am still ahead in winning. You are just a sore loser. Explains your desire to boast for once."

"Well, get used to it. As soon as you passed on the talisman this will become the norm. I believe you already sported some new gray hairs."

"I must be spending too much time with you."

"And that wrinkle is new as well, isn't it?"

"You apparently start seeing things that are not there. Maybe you should check your eyes. Your visual capability seems to have suffered. Although it might also be your head, which would not surprise me in the slightest." Atget deadpanned.

"I assure you my eyes are fine… even without genetic improvement I see everything." She just smiled at her. "Well, and the head is the usual, I guess."

She sighed excessively. "I wish there was a genetic improvement to make me endure your presence for longer. That might have been more than useful over the last decades."

"Well, rest assured you won't have to for much longer." She paused and her eyes turned softer, almost melancholic. "I am going to miss your prissy self. It will be hard without your constant nagging and patronizing know-it-all attitude not to mention your annoying habits and quirks."

Atget raised an eyebrow upon the sentimental admittance. "You are still talking as if I am dying. You won't get rid of me that easily. I am… I am going to visit and that's a threat."

"That's non- negotiable. And you still have to show Methys here the tips and tricks in the business as soon as she is taking over. You know the both of you are always welcome on Neptune for training and otherwise. I am sure Michiko would be overjoyed and Altan and Galatea would be delighted to see more of their niece, too." The last part was directed at Methys, who had listened to the whole Senshi banter with obvious amusement.

"Where are aunt Galatea and uncle Altan by the way? I didn't even say hello to them, yet."

"The King and Queen are already in the ballroom. The Neptunian delegation already had their grand entrance. Michiko just sneaked out again to wait for you and your brothers. And now that I think of it, you are still one troublemaker short. Where did your twin end up?" Neso looked around.

"I have not the slightest idea, where he is. Maybe in a remote closet, if one of the Venusians got her way with him." She deadpanned looking to the still closed portal doors.

Atget groaned. "Well, I am sure he is fighting to keep his pants on, right now. That's a given with them." The dry humor in her voice was interlaced with the remembrance of old suffering.

Michiko snickered. "They for sure make every party livelier. Well, … at least as soon as they show up."

"Well, it's time they _do_ arrive. The Mercurian delegation is supposed to enter last and we are already behind schedule. I am supposed to give Anairin a call as soon as it's our turn." Atget noted impatiently.

Neso chuckled. "Pahh, your Queen is wise not to join us in starting to grow roots."

Methys' brows furrowed in worry. "Maybe I should have a look where they are. I thought he would call me if he had trouble."

"I am sure he has his hands full." Michiko halted and then she grimaced. "I swear, that wasn't supposed to sound as lewd as it did."

Methys was already fumbling with the keys of her wrist computer, when the double doors suddenly opened and revealed, well… a bunch of feathers was probably the best description. They needed to do a double take to ascertain that their eyes were not playing any tricks on them and to realize that there was actually a person beneath the … plumage. To be fair Methys, Michiko, Atget and Neso were staring as well and the remaining people in the room were equally baffled.

The Venusian delegation had arrived.

* * *

_AN: So, guys we have reached the end for today. You got to meet some Senshi (maybe not the ones you wanted). World building takes some time, but the plot is already gaining momentum. I hope you are still with me. Next time the Venusians will get some spotlight. As always let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and stay healthy. _


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